Love Sucks
by ElMexicanoAmericano
Summary: "Love is a grave mental disease." — Plato. Love is a cruel bitch, and it is blind. Follow Natsu, Lucy, and their family as they come face to face with a new enemy and a grave decision that will alter their lives forever. What that decision is? Well you'll have to read to find out! Join Natsu on this journey of suspense and adventure! Bi to tri-weekly update schedule.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Forbidden Fruits

**A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome to my new story Love Sucks****! It is a sequel to my first story, More Than Meets the Eye. I would suggest reading it, but if not then oh well. It really is up to you guys, just know you might get lost while reading. So this story will not be nearly as long (hopefully) as the last one, and will not be updated as often. Daily updates are hard to do and I simply cannot do that right now. So now I hope you enjoy this story! ENJOY CHAPTER 1!**

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New Hargeon- X875 (Third Person POV)

New Hargeon, home to the biggest port in all of Fiore. The town is relatively new, as the original Hargeon was destroyed over a century ago. But the town is thriving now. The town is full to the brim with young people. Young people all going somewhere, yet nowhere at the same time. Except for two of them.

A young man runs through throngs of people, on a mission. His eyes are red, as red as the color of his companion's hair. His companion, another young man, is taller than his friend but yet less visible. He has pale skin and looks like everyone else in the crowd, plain. His friend is anything but. He has red eyes, dark skin, and a look that says, 'Don't Fuck With Me.' These two were running at speeds that could be accomplished by one type of person: Mages. And that they were. Two young guild mages. And they bore their guild marks with pride.

It was not often that guild mages came in like this, brash and bold. But these were not your ordinary guild mages. They were members of the strongest guild in all of Fiore: Ronin. Yes, gone are the days when Fairy Tail reigned supreme. Now the guild that everyone wished to be as strong as Ronin. These mages were not just any ordinary members either, they were the descendants of the founders of this guild.

The tall is known as Esoj Anoren III, son of E.J. Anoren, who was the son of the great Esoj Anoren, or Padre Naturaleza. His companion, Henkō, was the descendant of one Natsu and Lucy Dragneel. The reason for their visit to New Hargeon? To discover more about their ancestor's pasts.

"Hey, where's the damn library Esoj? I wanna get this done already so we can go home." Henkō asked, annoying his older and taller companion.

"Well, if you would have listened then you would know it's right over there! Gods, don't you ever pay attention Henkō?" Esoj asked.

"What? Where is the library?" Henkō asked even though Esoj pointed right at it. Esoj facepalmed and simply pushed his companion towards the library.

"Here! Now, let's find those books so I don't have to deal with your stupidity." Esoj said.

"Who you calling stupid, bean stock?" Henkō asked. "And what were the title of the books again?"

"Baka! I told you to memorize them! Gah! How did I get stuck with you? Why couldn't I have gotten someone else… Oh! Wait they're right here!" Esoj exclaimed as he walked to where the books they needed were. "Hmmm, oddly convenient. But oh well. Henkō come here and help me out. You know your grandpa's story better than me so tell me it again."

"Right. Ummm, ok so it started in X793. Natsu, my grandpa, was accused of almost killing my grandma Lucy Heartifilia. So he was forced to flee. And for five years no one heard anything about him. One man, your grandfather, the original Esoj, tried to find him and hear his story. So he found a partner, Gōsuto, and tried to find him. After no luck, his wife Nena coming along, he was about to give up. But then he met someone who needed his help. And they formed a five man group called Ronin. At the end of five years, Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser were going to get married. One month before the wedding however, a group of people began attacking the guild. They assaulted certain members and only stopped one week before the wedding. During that week, Fairy Tail discovered that someone in the guild was a mole. Also, Gildarts fought with one of the members and lost in an open battle. And to top off Fairy Tail's nightmare week, seven of the lesser known guild members, led by Nab and Macao Conbolt, quit the guild and retired from being guild mages." Henkō paused to catch his breath.

"Wow. You sure you don't know the whole story? I mean that was pretty long, and pretty detailed…" Esoj asked, cutting him off before he continue. He could not be any more surprised that his idiotic friend could retell a story so well.

Henkō shook his head and said, "Yeah, I don't know everything. That much and what else I know was in a book called More Than Meets the Eye. (Not a real book just the first story I wrote). Like I know Natsu loses an arm but I don't know how. And the whole Hoshi Dragneel thing," At the mention of Hoshi's full name, Esoj's eyes went as wide as saucers. He had no clue who Hoshi's parents were, just that she had been excommunicated by Natsu. But the fact that she was Natsu's own daughter? That was unlike anything he had ever heard. Henkō shrugged and continued, "I have no clue what happened there. I do know that there was some sort of conflict back then but I don't know the details. That's why I suggested this mission to Master San. He didn't even know and he lived back then. Neither does Joi, or if she does, she won't tell."

Esoj nodded and was going to reply before he was cut off. An old man, who was clad in a full body cloak that was red. He was hunched over, seemingly stuck in that position. He had a smile on his face that was framed by long white bangs. "Oh, you wish to know of the dark year?"

"The what?" Henkō asked and looked carefully at the old man.

"The Dark Year. The year of time that you and your friend are here to learn about." Said an equally as old woman. She was dressed in a similar cloak but it was gold in color and her hair was also a light gold. She stood upright, not like her companion her spine still had its original form.

"Wait a minute. Do you two know about what happened to the Dragneel's? The real story not the legends or basic facts?" Esoj asked and Henkō nodded looking at the couple more closely.

"Yes, we do. We were there." Said the old man and he fully removed his hood as did his companion, or wife as the ring on her left hand showed her to be. "In fact we were right in the middle of the entire thing."

"Wait!" Henkō yelled as he stood up from his seat. "That's impossible! Everyone from that time period should be dead!"

"Oh my dear boy, not everything is as it seems." The old man said with a smile on his face, "Allow me to introduce ourselves. I am Natsu Dragneel. And this is Lucy Heartifilia. We may be old now, one hundred and two years old in fact, but we are not dead."

"Grandpa… But… I saw you… What?" Henkō asked as he collapsed in his seat, completely baffled by this fact. How could his grandparents be alive, he saw them pass away not even fifteen years ago. "Grandpa! How are you alive?"

"That my boy is a story for another day. First I should explain what happened all those years ago. It began in the spring of X818…" Natsu began.

"Wait! How can you tell this story fairly?" Esoj asked.

"I will not tell this story, this special lacrima made to record everything that has ever happened will. Don't ask where I got this, it may have been borrowed with no hopes of being returned. Now. No more interrupting! It was the spring of X818, on a mission taken by my daughter, Hoshi, and my pupil Zoran in New Hargeon…"

New Hargeon- Spring X818 (Hoshi POV)

"I hate trains…" I whined as we got off the train. Dragon slayers, we're truly great mages. our only problem? Transportation. "Gods why did you make dragon slayers have motion sickness?"

"Because you whine too damn much. Now come on. We got a job to do and I don't want to be stuck with for more than a day. Now start acting like an adult mage of you want to be treated like one. You're nineteen for the gods' sake!" Zoran said and pulled me up, "Now do you remember the job? Who we're looking for?"

"Yeah yeah. We're looking for a specific man by the name of Nikola Zelini. Some sort of drug trafficker. We'll find him. In fact… Isn't that him right there?" I said and pointed at the guy who met our description. He saw us and immediately booked it. "Shit! I'll get him!"

I ran off after him and used my magic to give me a boost up into the air. "Hoshi! Wait!" Zoran yelled after me, but I tuned him out. 'A chance to show my dad I am an adult! Finally! If I save the day and catch this guy then he'll have no choice but to believe I'm a fully capable mage.' I landed from the boost up my magic gave me and saw my guy, running into a dark alley. So I followed him in and kept after him. 'I'm not losing him! If I lose him my dad will never believe that I can handle S-Class! I have to catch him!'

I turned a corner, staying on his tail. He turned another corner, sharply this time and I had to jump off the wall to keep up with him. He jumped over some trashcans and then turned one over. I was too close to jump over all the trashcans so I yelled, "Fire Dragon's Jet Pack!" Fire spouted from my feet and boosted me over all of the trashcans. Nikola saw this and cursed silently as he kept running. He turned another corner and I kept bounding after him. But then something bad happened. He turned us into a corner. A corner occupied by a group of his buddies, the dark guild Eisenwald. 'Damn! These guys are like cockroaches! They never stay dead!'

"Nikola, what did you bring us?" Asked one of them who looked like the leader. He was tall and had a massive guild mark on his chest. Which was bare for all to see. And it wasn't a pretty sight. He was tall, but he wasn't very fit, in fact he was very fat.

"It's one of those Ronin mages, and she's a fire mage! It has to be a Dragneel!" Nikola exclaimed and the leader's face went hard, as if the name Dragneel made him sick.

"Oi boss! Weren't you in the same guild as Dragneel before the incident?" One of the cronies asked and the leader nodded.

"Yeah, yeah I was. Fairy Tail. Girlie, you a Dragneel?" He asked and I nodded. "Ha! You must be Natsu's kid. Maybe you heard of me, the name's Droy!"

I thought about it for a moment, really stalling because there were too many mages for me to handle by myself. "No, never heard of you. Maybe Auntie Levy knows something…"

"LEVY! That bitch? She ditched the guild that helped raise her because her friend wasn't a member anymore. I could care less about her…" Droy said completely without being prompted. I sweat dropped as it quite obviously upset him that I mentioned Levy's name.

I shrugged and looked around for a second, counting how many people were there. The fact that Eisenwald was even there was bad news, but the fact that it seemed like everyone in the guild was there was really bad. Then, something amazing happened. A trio of guys dropped down into the alley and started attacking Eisenwald. All three were mages and immediately I joined them in their fight. I ran up to the one called Droy and yelled, "Fire Dragon's Roar!" My attack hit him dead on and knocked him. And the other three knocked everyone else out in less than a minute.

I look around and my jaw simply dropped. Every last mage was out cold and the trio was completely unharmed. Not a scratch! I blinked, repeatedly, until one of them, a tall young man with black hair said, "You okay there?"

His voice was deep and sounded like it belonged to a god. His eyes were a deep black, absolutely mesmerizing. His body was chiseled… And it was then I realized that he had begun to strip. "KYAA! Why are you stripping! You pervert!"

He looked down and cursed, quickly trying to get his clothes on. He put his pants on and said, "Sorry! It's a habit. Name's Sutōmu Fullbuster, what's yours?"

'Fullbuster?! He's from Fairy Tail! But why don't I immediately hate him or find him bad? Aren't Fairy Tail the forbidden fruit we're not supposed to be with?' I paused for a moment and then responded, "Hoshi. Don't know my last name, I was orphaned as a child." 'WHAT?! Why did I just lie to him? Why do I want him to feel bad for me… Shit.' It was then I realized, I had just fallen in love with the one guys I should never have. Damn love at first sight.

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**A/N: Dun dun! Whew, that was fun to write! I don't know if I like it but that was fun to write. And if you did not realize it, that very long dialogue in the middle was a summary of the last story for those of you who didn't want to read the story. And I hope you like the addition of Droy in there as a bad guy, he will have a role to play in this story so be ready for him! Not a major major role but a role none the less. Well that was fun to write! I will update when I can. Remember! READ AND REVIEW! ADIOS!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: We Have Some Questions for You

**A/N: Hello again! Shout out to Dazz Tugz for the follow and review! Glad you're as excited about this story as I am! I have decided to have solid days of the week that will be the days I will upload. These days will be Wednesday and Saturday. That will start next week. This week will just be whenever I'm done with a chapter. Don't expect to much from me though, I am only human. So for now, ENJOY CHAPTER TWO!**

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New Hargeon – Spring X818 (Hoshi POV)

'Damn love at first sight! Why did it have to be a Fullbuster?! Ugh…' I silently cursed my misfortune but was awoken from the monologue as Sutōmu said, "Umm, Hoshi are you okay?"

(POV Change to Sutōmu)

I looked at the woman in front of me and could not help but feel like I should protect her. She was beautiful, like a pin up model from Sorcerer Magazine. "Hey Sutōmu! We gotta go! We came to this town for a reason! And if we don't get it done, master Laxus will fry us! So will Erza! Now come on, before we get barbequed!"

I looked at Maks and Rye (Cobra's son), glaring at them. "I'm busy here! Go on ahead!" I yelled and they put up their hands, signaling they got the message. They saluted me, mocking the fact that I supposedly always do this when I meet a hot girl. Which is true, but something felt different about this one. "So Hoshi, are you okay?"

She nodded and said, "Yeah thanks for the help. But umm, don't you mages have a mission to complete?"

"Yes… okay. Hey well I was wondering, do you belong to a guild?" I asked and she immediately looked up at me, her face pale.

"Umm… n-no. No I don't. And I uh, I'd rather not. I prefer being alone. Sorry." She said and my heart dipped slightly. But it wasn't a total rejection!

"Oh okay then. Hey how about I give you my lacrima frequency so we can talk sometime?" I asked, surprisingly nervous about this even though this was something I had done so many times before.

"Okay! I mean, yeah sure sounds cool." She said, and my eyebrows shot up at her happiness. 'Was she into me too?' I smiled and grabbed her communication lacrima, adding my frequency into her contacts. I handed her the lacrima back and we smiled at each other.

"Go, I can handle these guys. I do have a partner, but I have no clue where he is. Go on." She said and I nodded, making the call me motion to her. She smiled and nodded and I ran off, chasing after my friends who had left me far behind.

(POV Change back to Hoshi)

I watched as Sutōmu ran off, to join his friends and I almost melted. 'He is so into me! YES! Wait. NO! CRAP! He doesn't know the truth about me! If he found out I belonged to Ronin… Oh gods no…'

"HOSHI! Gods how impatient can you… Wow." Zoran said as he FINALLY caught up with me. "Did you take them on all by yourself? And you won?"

I looked at him and shook my head, "No I had some from some freelance mages, but I did defeat the leader in a matter of seconds. He said his name was Droy. He's an Eisenwald leader. Or so I think…. He said he knew my dad and Aunt Levy."

"Wait, you said his name was Droy right?" Zoran asked, I nodded and he gasped, "We've been looking for him! Levy heard he went off the grid and she got worried! We're bringing him with us. Nikola and the rest go to the authorities. But we'll need some help carrying them all. Give me a second." Zoran pulled out his lacrima and dialed someone and started talking to them.

But I could care less, my mind was completely lost in thoughts of the man I just met. And fell in love with. 'Wait a minute, I can't already be in love! This isn't some story written by fans! This is real life. Although some of those fan fictions are pretty good. Wait, focus Hoshi! This is way too early to call love, a crush maybe. Yeah, this is just a crush based on looks. I won't lie, he sure is good looking. That toned body, those eyes… GAH! Stop thinking about him!'

"Hoshi! Hello you there?!" Zoran asked and I looked at him, nodding, "Okay. We lucked out in a big way. Levy and Gajeel were already in town looking for a home for Pantherlily and Shagotte, since they are retiring from being royalty. They are almost here so look alive."

I nodded, and looked to see that he wasn't kidding. Gajeel and Levy were already here, with Levy looking very distressed. "Droy!" Levy yelled and ran over to the big guy who was quite obviously her old friend.

"Careful Auntie Levy. He didn't sound too happy to hear your name when I mentioned it. In fact I think he called you a…" I started to say, but was cut off.

"Whatever, let's get this fatty loaded up and into a place where we can ask him some questions. Hoshi and Levy, you take Nikola to the authorities her and collect the reward. Zoran help me out, he's way too fat for me to lift him up myself." Gajeel said and gave me a look that said some things should not be said.

I nodded and turned to Nikola and the others who weren't going to be questioned. "Ummm, do you have any one else who can help us with these guys?" I asked Gajeel and he nodded.

"Metalicana! Pops! Get your ass down here. Help the girls take these guys to the jail!" Gajeel yelled and a giant, metallic dragon came down to where we were.

"What did you just call me?! HUH?" The dragon said and Gajeel sighed.

Then he got in the dragon's face and yelled, "I called ya pops, you deaf bat!"

"BAT?! You ungrateful idiot! Levy, excuse my son, he's an idiot. You might be too, since you married him." The dragon known as Metalicana said.

Gajeel looked ready to fight him before Levy stepped forward and said, "STOP! We don't need to fight every time we see each other. Now Gajeel, behave! You promised me you would, and be nice to Droy. He looks like something happened to make him this way. BE NICE. Hoshi let's go."

I nodded, not wanting to incur more of her wrath. I looked back at Gajeel and he looked completely whipped. I now knew who was in charge in that relationship. 'I wonder if I'd wear the pants or if Sutōmu would. GAH! Stop it brain! Need to focus on this or else I'll blow it. F-O-C-U-S. I got this.' I watched as Gajeel and Zoran lifted Droy up and took him away.

Meanwhile, Levy and I began to pile up the dark mages onto the dragon's back. 'Oh dear gods, just the two of us? And a bitchy dragon? Fuck, this is gonna be harder than I thought. Sutōmu, why do you have to be a Fullbuster?'

Thirty Minutes Later (POV Change to Gajeel)

We arrived at my secret little hiding hole that we were going to give to Lily and Shagotte. I looked around to make sure no one saw us dragging an unconscious man in, because that would look real fucking creepy outta context. 'Two guys dragging a third guy? Who's unconscious? I would say they were fucking gay as hell if I didn't know what was going on. Hell, even know this is pretty fucking weird. But he is with Eisenwald now. Gotta figure the fuck out of what they're doing.'

I looked at Zoran and said, "Hold him alone for a second, I have to open the door personally." Zoran nodded and took him on his shoulder as best he could. Which was pretty well, which was no surprise as Natsu had trained him like his little bitch for the past eighteen years. I turned to the door and made my finger into a key. Then I put the key in and turned it, then grabbed the axe that tried to fall on me. "Damn. Gotta remember to remove that before Lily comes and takes over the place. Well hurry up, get him in here."

Zoran shuffled him inside and I followed quickly after, locking the door behind me. I motioned to a chair that was by a table and Zoran set him down there. Then I came over and put cuffs on him, binding him to the table. "Gotta make sure he doesn't try anything. Now wake him up. We got interrogating to do." I said and Zoran nodded.

He got close to Droy's ear and then put his hand to it. Then he emitted a small sound that must have been loud as hell for Droy. After only one second of hearing the sound, he bolted awake yelling at the top of his lungs in pain. "WHAT THE FUCK! Who did… Ah shit."

"Shit indeed fatty, now we have some serious questions for you." I said and grabbed his hair, "Now are you gonna play along or do I gotta make it hurt?"

"Fuck you Redfox. You may have scared me before, but now I know you're fucked." Droy spat.

I sighed and said, "Tsk tsk, that was the answer for making it hurt." I then slammed his head into the table and touched his cuffs. His cuffs grew sharp points in them and they dug into his wrists. He howled in pain and I pulled his head close, "You keep dogging me, and this shit will get more painful."

"Fuck you! I don't belong to you people anymore." Droy spat understand and I paused, surprised by his ballsy declaration.

I tapped his cuffs again and asked, "So you really like pain now huh? What you a masochist? You know I always thought you were. It would explain why you were so submissive to Levy."

He howled as the cuffs grew sharper, then spat again, this time raggedly as the cuffs were really making him hurt, "Go to hell! My life is my own! I won't say anything!"

I growled at his stubbornness and went to tap his cuffs again. "Gajeel! Stop that you'll actually hurt him!" Zoran cried and I looked to see him bleeding now.

I turned towards Zoran and walked up to him. I grabbed him by his shirt collar and said, "Listen here Salamander's bitch. This is a fucking interrogation, with a dark mage. I ain't gonna be nice and ask nicely, he's probably hurt many people already. I gotta do what I gotta do. Now are you gonna let me or should I send you after the girls and get Gōsuto here? He might actually know what this takes." Zoran looked away but didn't respond, "You know what, you don't got the stomach for this. Just like your little master. Get outta here. Oi! Gōsuto! Come here!" I yelled, the last part into my lacrima as Zoran walked out of the room, clearly disturbed by my interrogation methods.

Gōsuto then mumbled a reply and appeared in a matter of moments. "What do ya want… The fuck Redfox? Did you really have to bring out your spike cuffs already?"

"I don't have much time. You should recognize him, one of Levy's old fan boys. But something's off. He was actually a normal person before, but now. Now he's as stubborn as an ox. He won't even cry and I already tapped the cuffs three times." I said and Gōsuto's eyes went wide.

"Three times? And he's not even bending a little?" Gōsuto asked and I nodded my affirmation, "Okay then… Where did you even find him?"

"He was caught in the crossfire of Hoshi and Zoran's mission. Er, or as she said was a part of it. Apparently he's running with Eisenwald now. A leader even. But this ain't the same bitch I knew before. Now he has a spine." I said.

Gōsuto nodded and said, "Ok, but we can't interrogate him here. This place is going to Lily and Shagotte right?"

"Yeah it is. You wanna take him to Naito where we can properly interrogate him, with your dad helping us?" I asked.

"Yeah, and Natsu too. He needs to know that Eisenwald is recruiting heavily again. I mean this guy wasn't on the roster that our contacts gave us. Or those the council use for that matter and those guys are actually legit." Gōsuto said.

"Salamander? Interrogation? Pft. He doesn't have the stomach for it." I said dismissing the claim Natsu should be there.

"You'd be surprised. He was there when we interrogated Chung Fay for Zeref's location. In fact he seemed quite alright with it all." Gōsuto said and I deadpanned.

"Salamander okay with a real interrogation?" Gōsuto nodded and I sighed, "Okay then. Set it up. I'll be there shortly I have to pick up the other three."

"Okay, and hey. Where did Zoran go? I thought he'd be here." Gōsuto said as he knocked Droy unconscious.

"He didn't have the stomach for this. I sent him to help the girls before you came." I said and Gōsuto nodded. Then a knock came and it was the special that only Levy knew, "Oh, never mind they're here already. Hold on."

I walked over to the door and said through it, "Levy that you?"

"Yes. Now let me in, or are we leaving already?" She said but said so in a tone that made me nervous, a tone that said Zoran had told her what had happened. 'If Zoran doesn't have the stomach for it, then Levy definitely won't. Fuck I'm dead.'

I opened the door carefully and saw Levy tapping her foot with an upset look on her face. Then she saw Droy. Then she flipped. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!"

"I interrogated him, but he didn't break. We're taking him to Naito, now. Hoshi you get the reward?" When Hoshi nodded her head I immediately said to Gōsuto, "Get us out of here. Now!"

Gōsuto nodded and suddenly we were enveloped by shadows. For a moment it felt as if we were in the middle of a separate dimension then we were back. I looked around and saw our guildhall and our friends and our home. "SHIT! WE forgot Metalicana!" Hoshi said and covered her mouth as she cussed, forgetting where we were.

"HOSHI! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Came a yell that could only belong to one woman: Lucy Dragneel. Hoshi's mother. 'Well she's fucked. And so am I once we finish with Droy.' Lucy came over and glared at her daughter who did the only thing she could think of: run. She ran off past her and Lucy immediately gave chase. But not before looking at Droy and wondering what had happened. "I'll get Natsu." She said to Levy before leaving. She then ran after Hoshi and yelled after her.

I blinked for a moment then sighed, "Okay Gōsuto. Let's get him inside." Gōsuto nodded as Levy looked at Droy in confusion. She could not comprehend how her childhood friend had gone so far off the path that he was on. I sighed and walked over to her and said, "Listen I'm sorry for roughing him up. But this is serious. Eisenwald is up to something. And it's big."

She looked at me and saw how serious I was. "Okay. I trust and forgive you. But I have a request. Let me be there during his interrogation so I can find out what happened."

Gōsuto turned around as Zoran helped him drag Droy into the guildhall. He was going to protest but I cut him off and said, "Okay. But no complaining about what we do to get the information we need, okay? It's not normal for a retired mage to un-retire with a dark guild so this is going to be pretty dark. You need to understand that and be okay with it."

Levy nodded, showing a brave face so she could find out what happened to her childhood friend. I nodded at her and then walked with her to the door. Then Natsu burst through the door and looked to see what was going on. "Well I'll be, Droy really is here. Huh, he hasn't changed much has he? Still fat."

"Yeah but that's the only thing that's the fucking same. His personality is completely different." I said and Natsu nodded looking at Droy carefully. "Now is the meeting room ready or not? Because we should get this over with. Eisenwald is definitely up to something, there were a lot of them in New Hargeon. Your daughter took care of them though, you could fucking learn something from her. Didn't destroy a single building while doing it." I said laughing at Natsu's face when I mentioned his daughter's antics or lack of.

"It's true Natsu. She did get some help from a freelance mage but more or less yeah she did excellently. I give her an A for this mission. She even got the guy without me helping her." Zoran added and Natsu started to smirk.

"Of course she did! She is my daughter after all!" Natsu said triumphantly and I pushed past him.

"Hey Kurayami! Is the meeting room open? Kurayami! Wake up ya bastard! Geez you are fucking old!" I yelled at Gōsuto's dad who had fallen asleep at his bar seat.

He shot up, rubbing the sleep outta his eyes and said, "The meeting room? Yeah it's empty. Why?"

"Because we have an interrogation to do. Now let's go, we have an Eisenwald lieutenant here to interrogate." I said.

"Lieutenant? An Esianwald Lieutenant? Where did you find him? We've been looking for one of those guys for months now." Kurayami said.

"Hoshi found him when on her job and knocked him out. I already used the spike cuffs, third level, and he didn't even bend." I said and Kurayami looked surprised, "Yeah I know. Now let's get moving."

"Gajeel, hang back for a moment." Natsu said and I cursed silently, nothing good came from these kinds of moments. Everyone else walked off to the meeting room, and I could feel Levy's gaze linger on us before she hurried after them."

"What Salamander? I ain't done…." I started but was waved off by Natsu.

"It's not about you. It's about Hoshi. Did she really do all of what you said she did?" Natsu asked and I blinked, surprised by his doubts.

"Yeah, well I didn't get there until well after but I could see her scorch marks here and there. And Zoran seems to believe her and say she did amazing. Why do you ask?" I said and waited for his answer to my question.

Natsu smiled and said, "Because, it's almost time for the S-Class trials, and I do believe I can now add her as a candidate. Now, where is she? I want to congratulate her on a job well done."

"Hahaha, well she may or may not have cussed and Lucy most definitely heard her. Fucking idiot, everyone knows your woman has super mom hearing." I said and Natsu laughed as well.

"Yeah, and let's not forget her super wife hearing either, that is just as scary. Uh-oh, speak and she appears apparently. Hey Luce, you going to join us or not?" Natsu asked as Lucy walked up with Hoshi who looks like she lost a puppy or something stupid like that. "Oh and Hoshi, I heard how the mission went. Excellent job!"

At her Father's compliment Hoshi immediately cheered up and smiled at him. "Yeah, but now she is on dish duty for a month along with being our unpaid babysitter again. You know you can't cuss here, there are children here." Lucy said and Hoshi's face went back to a neutral state.

"Fine. But just remember, I am an adult now. I can take missions whenever. Any mission." Hoshi said, reminding her mom that her punishment could never come to pass.

"Well not any mission, you aren't an S-Class mage yet." Natsu said and waved goodbye, "Yet. Gajeel and Lucy let's go."

(POV Change back to Hoshi)

"What do you mean by yet? NATSU?!" Mom asked as dad walked away, a smirk on his face. But that one word had just made my life. 'Is he saying I have a shot at S-Class? The trial is in one month. In May, now I really do have to get going on missions! I'm up for consideration! YOSH! Let's do this!' I pumped my fist n the air and went off to find Joi, my best friend so we could start polishing my S-Class resume. Completely forgetting about the real problem I was so worried about: Sutōmu Fullbuster and his hot self.

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**A/N: Like I said whenever I'm done. Who knew Droy could be bad ass enough to stand up to Gajeel? And what will happen during those S-Class trials? Will they be anything like Fairy Tail's? I hope so. I hope you guys like this chapter and had a very merry Christmas! I know I did. Well be on the lookout for more and I will see you guys, by the latest, Wednesday! Remember! READ AND REVIEW! ADIOS!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Well That Didn't Work

**A/N: Hello again! I hope this chapter is finished before my self-imposed Wednesday deadline, but if not then oh well! Time for a big shout out to firstly nico2883 for the favorite and to duoshipwhoiship for the quadfecta! The follow and favorite of not only the story but of me myself as an author! Thank you so very much for the love on me! Thank You! NOW! One last thing, I have set this story in terms of months, it starting in April. And that means that the story will span a little over one year in terms of story time. Just thought you guys should know. NOW! On with our story! To those who will see this almost immediately and to those who will read it when they see it, ENJOY CHAPTER 3!**

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Naito- Ronin Guildhall Meeting Room- April X818 (Natsu POV)

I walked into the meeting room as Lucy kept asking me what I had meant when I had told Hoshi not yet. I looked to see the door closed, and hopefully meaning Hoshi was out of earshot. I sighed and then told Lucy, "It means that she will be a candidate for the S-Class trials next month. And if she passes, she will be the last S-Class mage we graduate to that status for a while."

"And you trust her with that kind of responsibility?! You know she is like you, stubborn and not exactly careful! Especially with her magic! She destroyed a whole town once. A WHOLE TOWN! They're still rebuilding it!" Lucy cried out and I could hear some of the others in the room nod their heads in agreement.

"Yes I know. But she has been getting better about it lately. And this time she got the full reward and brought us a valuable prisoner. And made sure that this prisoner actually got to us capable of talking. Although Gajeel almost made that fact untrue. But still! That is the kind of job an S-Class mage of this guild does! And she did so without Zoran's help!" I said and I heard more heads nodding in agreement with my claim.

"I support the decision. We needed a tenth mage anyways. If she passes, then she passes. If she doesn't, then oh well. Either way, these trials will test her in ways that she could never had imagined." Esoj said and Gajeel growled his agreement as he got Droy into position.

"Yeah Lucy, don't worry. She will be just fine. She is an adult now anyways, you have to let her grow up." Rai said, which caused Lucy to glare at him. He flinched a second from the glare and Gōsuto snickered at how his old friend was dominated so easily.

"Lucy, take a mother's word for it. I went through the same thing with E.J., I was so worried. He was reckless and crazy. But now, well now he's one of the ten S-Class mages in this guild. And on the verge of being recognized as a wizard saint too, just so you know." Nena added and Lucy immediately calmed down. I guess some thing do require a woman's touch. And it was true, the S-Class mages of this guild were legends in Fiore. Lucy, Gajeel, Esoj, Gōsuto, Rai, Nena, E.J., Raito, Zoran, and Seble Martinez (who is out on an S-Class job) are our S-Class mages and are respected by everyone in Fiore. Levy was offered a spot but declined as she did not really take too many missions now. And Seble, Gajeel, Zoran, and Gōsuto are all recognized wizard saints, as am I. The others were all offered a spot but declined and renounced their titles as they did not see the point.

I looked at Lucy and smiled, a smile that she returned albeit a bit meekly. I nodded and said, "Okay, Zoran, wake him up." Zoran nodded and then used his sound magic on Droy's ear, which caused Droy to yell as he woke up. "Ah, awake are we now? Good, you see we have some questions for you old buddy. Droy can you hear me?"

I walked up close to him and looked at Droy. He was confused and looking around the room, so I punched him in the jaw to get him refocused. "I asked you a question! Now, can you hear me or not?" I asked Droy.

"Go fuck yourself Dragneel!" Droy spat as he spit at me through his split lips.

The spit landed on my face, near my eyes. I wiped it off and lit my fist on fire. The I put my hand on his face and let it sit there, letting it almost burn him. When he started panting I pulled away to see a red hand mark almost burned into his face. "Now, are you going to play ball, or do we have to get nasty?"

"Ha! Please you getting nasty? You don't have the stomach for it." Droy said and looked at me.

I sighed and shook my head. Then with my still lit hand I put one finger up. Then I stuck that finger into his chest. And I dug it in there so it would leave a burn mark. I twisted my finger as Droy yelled in pain, the smell of burning flesh permeating my senses. "Had enough yet?" I asked, but simply got no response. He was panting and grunting, but did not say a single word. Instead he was just looking at me angrily, in disgust with me.

"Natsu, we're ready to do this." Gōsuto said and his dad nodded, signaling he was ready. I nodded and Gōsuto stepped up towards Droy. "Okay, if you want to see what is going happen, then hold onto me or my dad. And will someone knock out the prisoner? He doesn't have to be awake for this."

I took my finger from its spot and then punched Droy so hard that he was out cold in moments. "Well my plan didn't work, Gōsuto, Kurayami, its up to you guys. Do it."

(POV Change to Gōsuto)

"Do it." Natsu said and I nodded.

I took a deep breath, and then said loudly, "Shadow: Nightmare W!" Suddenly there was a pool of water under Droy and we were far away from him. A pool of water was the only thing that was beneath him. We watched as Droy was grabbed by the collar by an unseen force and plunged into the water. And then he was left there for what seemed like hours. All that would come out were bubbles of his air. Then the bubbles that were his air stopped. Droy was pulled out of the water but was not moving. Then eels came out of the water and electrocuted him, trying to restart his heart. He jolted alive and gasped for air, a wild look in his eyes as he realized what had happened. "Ready to answer our questions?" He then re-hardened his resolve and gave us a look that told us what we needed to know, "Again!" Then he was plunged back into the water, the process repeated again. And this happened at least ten more times before I finally stopped the process. He was hanging in the air as I asked him, "You ready to answer us now?"

"Fuck you. Never." He said in between breaths, his breathing still ragged from the repeated drowning. Or what he thought was drowning, but was actually nothing more than a nightmare inflicted on him by my magic.

I looked at my dad and he mouthed an 'E' to me. I nodded and then said, "Shadow: Nightmare E!" The world we were in changed again and the only thing there was a a metal pole. And the pole was stuck to Droy. Then three large creatures appeared behind him. Their hands looked like five eels almost, the electric currents in them so strong it changed their shape. Then the creatures started chasing after Droy, getting close to touching him on several occasions. Then, a thunder cloud appeared above him and let loose some lightning that was instantly attracted to the metal pole on Droy. It struck him and he was electrocuted. But it didn't fry him to a crisp, and instead he looked just fine. Then as he caught his breath, the creatures caught him. And they began electrocuting him, and I could see what all of this electricity was doing to him. His body was getting very hot, his organs probably burnt from the current of electricity.

It was then that I called out, "Hey Droy? You had enough yet? Ready to talk?"

The creatures stopped and let him have a chance to answer, which he did. He responded, "Fuck YOU! I ain't saying shit!"

I sighed and motioned for them to continue, but he had run away from them and the scene that had first happened unfolded again. And this happened for what seemed like days, until I stopped everything and asked, "You know, you fit the definition of insanity?" He looked up and scowled at my voice, "Doing the same thing over and over and over again, expecting different results. That is the definition of insanity. That, my fat prisoner, is you. Now, this could all stop if you agree to answer our questions. Do you?"

"No." He said and got up to run away again.

I sighed and looked at everyone else. Then Natsu said, "Finish this. R." My eyes went wide and Natsu said, "It's been a full twenty-four hours already. I'm not waiting any longer. It's the most effective for tough guys like him. Do it."

I gulped deeply and nodded, "Shadow: Nightmare R!" I yelled. Suddenly we were in a dark room where Droy was on a table, lying down and unable to move. Then a scalpel came down and connected with his gut, cutting it open for him to see. Droy yelled out in pain and watched as the contents of his gut were removed, intestines first, followed by his stomach, and so on and so forth. I did my best to hold my lunch down, this nightmare being my least favorite. It was the most disgusting and painful to watch.

"You wanna talk? Or you wanna see more of your organs?" I asked, but got a laugh instead.

"No, I can take more. Bring it bitch!" Droy spat and I sighed, because it was about to get worse. The scalpel came down again, this time near his heart. It was removed and he yelled in pain. Then his lungs were taken out, and he yelled in pain. But he seemingly realized that and then stopped yelling, trying to save his oxygen somehow.

Then the worst part of the nightmare was about to unfold. The scalpel moved towards his crotch and I wished I could close my eyes. But I couldn't, I need to see what was going on and make sure the magic was still working. The scalpel reached his crotch, and then cut. It cut off his penis and then removed his balls. And yet Droy didn't even flinch. 'The fuck?! He didn't flinch?! HE DIDN'T EVEN MOVE! What in the world…'

"You're wondering how I did that, not move huh?" Droy asked and I could feel Natsu getting impatient. "I figured out the secret to this magic. This is all a nightmare. This isn't real! HAHAHA!" He kept laughing as I realized why he had stopped yelling.

"Fuck." I whispered, and turned to Natsu, "It didn't work. It didn't work at…"

"Yeah I figured that out. Fuck. Gajeel! You're up! Gōsuto, Kurayami you guys go and rest." Natsu said and I cursed quietly, upset that I had failed. I walked out of the room with my father and Rai in tow. I walked out the door and walked outside, ready to blow off some steam. The failure of the day weighing deeply on me, 'How could someone be that loyal to a guild they just joined. And a dark guild no less! What the hell is going on?'

(POV Change to Natsu)

"Yeah I figured that out. Fuck. Gajeel! You're up! Gōsuto, Kurayami you guys go and rest." I said and watched as Gajeel and Gōsuto switched places and the room returned to normal. Gōsuto walked away, his frustration at failing at his job obvious to everyone. Then Droy started yelling as Gajeel started his work. I sighed and looked at Levy. "Levy come with me."

Levy nodded and we walked out of the room. I motioned for everyone but Gajeel to leave and they did, leaving Droy to face the horrors that Gajeel had planned for Droy. I looked at Levy and said, "Where is Jet?"

"Huh?" Levy asked confused by my question.

"Where is Jet? I think that we should bring him in so he can try and convince his best friend to come clean." I said.

She nodded and said, "Okay, he is in Magnolia. I'll call him and tell him to come here as soon as possible."

I nodded and then turned to Esoj and Nena, "Esoj, Nena, Zoran, I want you to gather everyone who is capable and begin hunting. Your prey: Eisenwald. Let's see if everyone in that guild is as loyal as Droy. Luce, we're going to Era. We need to talk to Chairman Reiss. He should be able to help us, since he actually likes us." They all nodded and went off to do their jobs. Lucy stayed with me and we walked off, ready to begin our war on Eisenwald.

New Boa (POV Change to Hoshi)

We got off of our ride there, Metalicana. He was mad at being left behind, but was only mad at Gajeel since he just forgot about his own dad. We waved good-bye to him and he said, "Okay, Hoshi take care of Joi. She is my only granddaughter! Make sure she stays safe!"

I nodded and then Metalicana flew off. I turned to Joi and said, "You ready to go and find this guy?"

"Yeah, what was his name again?" Joi said and I looked at the job sheet.

"It's two people. Mern Geer and Karr Strauss. Huh, those names sound familiar." I said and Joi shrugged. Then I shrugged and got ready to go.

But then I heard a voice that I had never wanted to hear again, "Hoshi, is that you?" I turned to see that it was indeed the man who I thought the voice belonged to: Sutōmu Fullbuster. 'Fuck! The Work so You Forget Him plan didn't work at all! Man I should have stayed home.'

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**A/N: Whew, that was interesting. I do wish to apologize to those of you who were weirded out by the interrogations, but it's what happens. So yeah, oh well. I hope you guys enjoyed how real it was! Remember! READ AND REVIEW! ADIOS!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Well Shit…

**A/N: Hello again! I do not when this will be uploaded, either Tuesday or Wednesday, but here we go! Shout out to Wacko12 for the favorite! ENJOY!**

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New Boa Town Center- May X818 (Hoshi POV)

I looked and saw the one man I did not wish to see. The one man who I wanted more than anything to be with. The one man who I could never be with. I was face to face with Sutōmu Fullbuster, a member of our rival guild and the one who had stolen my heart. "Hoshi! What a surprise! Are you following me?" He asked me, and I could see his guild mark, the reminder of how he was forbidden to me. It was on his shoulder, the left one and was somewhat close to his heart. It was if it blocked me from being able to enter it fully. Figuratively speaking of course.

I laughed on instinct and said, "No. Although maybe I should ask the same question of you. Why are you here? And are you alone?" I asked and I inwardly gasped at the question. 'Why did I just ask if he was alone?! Gah, seem more desperate why don't you?!'

Sutōmu laughed and said, "No to stalking you, job request brought me here, and no I brought my friend Maks. Maks get over here! Oh and where are my manners, I am Sutōmu Fullbuster Fairy Tail mage. What is your name?" He asked the last question directly to Joi, who looked shocked at how I knew a Fairy Tail mage.

But she was as always, cool and calm, regaining her composure by saying, "Ah! So you are the guy Hoshi talked about. My name is Joi, and I'm her partner for this job."

"Partner? I thought you were a lone wolf?" Sutōmu asked and I cursed myself, Joi did not know my lie. I looked at Joi and mouthed as discreetly as possible, 'Follow my lead.' She nodded and luckily Maks, Sutōmu's friend appeared to distract him.

"Ah, well I am a freelance mage but it doesn't mean I don't work solely by myself. We're both freelancers, and we're here on a bounty mission." I said and Joi nodded, backing me up.

"Oh really? Who are you looking for?" Maks asked as he shook Joi's hand, "Maybe we're looking for the same guys."

"Maybe, guild mages. We are looking for Mern Geer and Karr Strauss. Some rogue mages who are wanted for crimes that were undisclosed." Joi said, and I inwardly smiled, she played the role of a freelancer well.

Maks face scrunched up a bit as if thinking, then he smirked and said, "You know what, we are looking for the same guys. Specifically Strauss, he has some family members back home that would like to meet him. But finding them will be hard, they are freelance dark mages. They are notorious for hiding whenever the sense someone on their tail. And one is a demon to boot, albeit a now crippled demon. But a demon is still a demon. Which is why they sent my man Sutōmu here, he's a trained demon hunter. Like his father, Gray Fullbuster. You know the very famous demon hunter who is said to be Natsu Dragneel's eternal rival?"

"Yeah, we know who that is. Wouldn't call it much of a rivalry if Dragneel kicked the master of Fairy Tail's ass. And quite handedly the stories say." Joi said, and I immediately regretted her even talking. The son of Laxus Dreyar, Maks Dreyar.

Sure enough Maks looked angry and said, "Those stories are exaggerated. My father fought Natsu almost equally(*Untrue Natsu kicked Laxus's ass TWICE, in first story, chapters 27 and 64). He could defeat him if given the chance again." When Maks mentioned the fact that Laxus was his father, Joi looked like she almost genuinely sorry.

"Ah get over it man. Your dad lost, so what? Everyone does. Now we should stop bickering about hypotheticals and discuss the problem at hand. We have a whole city to cover, and we are looking for two needles in a haystack. This place is a safe haven for dark mages. We may know what they look like but not where to find them." Sutōmu said.

I looked up almost immediately and said, "Actually I might." Everyone looked at me and I said, "My contacts tell me that there are two likely place they will be. One's a café called _La Siesta_, it's a small place on the south end of town. Or they could be in _Das Ende_ in the northern end." Sutōmu and Maks looked surprised by this. I showed them our job sheet and there on the bottom it provided the information. It would seem Ronin has the better criminal contacts.

"Huh, well that makes it tougher. Now we have to guess which one they will be at." Maks said and Joi nodded.

"Or we could split up and look at both at the same time." I said and Sutōmu nodded, agreeing with me, "Joi and Maks could take the _Das Ende _while Sutōmu and I take _La Siesta._"

"I'm good with that. But then who takes the reward?" Sutōmu asked and everyone looked at each other, pondering how it should be done.

"How about this?" Joi said and we looked at her, "We take Mern and turn him in. You guys get Strauss and take him. This way we split the reward evenly and you guys get to reunite some family members."

"Okay, that could work. I agree. Sutōmu?" Maks said and Sutōmu nodded his agreement to the arrangement. "And Hoshi?" He asked, and I nodded as well. The job would be done, and we would get some money. Plus I get to spend time with Sutōmu. 'Wait. I have to spend time with the guy who I love but can't have. And I suggested it?! Well shit…'

"Okay, then as everyone is in agreement, we will split up now. Meet back here tonight if you, with or without the targets. Now go!" Joi said, and her and Maks ran off. I looked at Joi but she had her back turned, and then I was alone with the one man that was likely going to drive me mad. 'Well shit. I fucked that one up. Shit…'

(POV Change to Sutōmu)

I watched as Maks and Joi ran off, and then turned to Hoshi, "You ready?" I watched as she watched her friend leave and I couldn't help but smile. She was beautiful, her hair in a ponytail and her body like that of an actual model. 'Oh man do I got it bad for her! I'm glad that she and I get to spend some time together right now. I wonder if she feels the same way I do? I mean she did ask to be partnered with me and asked if I was alone… hmmm, I'm still not sure. I guess this is why they call me extremely dense.'

"Huh? oh yes! Yeah I'm ready. Come on, _La Siesta_ is a pretty long trek. We are closer to the other place, but I feel _La Siesta_ is the more likely choice." Hoshi said in a voice that had to be that of an angel. I nodded and let her lead the way, since she actually knew where it was. I sighed quietly, knowing that this infatuation with her was most likely more. But I had just met her, I need to know more about her before I declare love. "So, Sutōmu tell me: how old are you?"

I blinked at her question and said "Eighteen. Born in X800." 'I wonder why she asked that?'

"Whew, I thought you were still some kid. I was born in X799 too. Born in April. What month for you?" She asked and I laughed, surprised she thought I was not eighteen.

"Yes I am a legal adult now. I was born in May actually. May 5th to be precise. My birthday was three weeks ago now." I said and she made a small 'o' with her mouth, "Yeah, so I'm still a new adult."

She shrugged and said, "An adult is still an adult. Left up here." She said as we came to a fork in the road, which was weird for a city to have inside its walls. "And happy belated birthday. And I'm a year and a month older. Sucker." She added and I laughed.

"A year is nothing. All about height, and I definitely got you there, shorty." I said and looked down at her. She was a whole head shorter than me, and she looked up at me. Her face was scrunched up, and she looked way too cute to not say something.

But before I could she say, "Whatever baby adult. Oh and turn right here." I looked up and saw we were forced to go either right or left.

"What's with all these forks in the road? Shouldn't it be a straight path to one place?" I asked, annoyed that she had to interrupt our conversation with directions.

"Not here. The designers of this place were all dark mages, or they allies. So they made it hard to find places unless you knew exactly where they are. Fortunately my contact knew the places were looking for. We're actually almost there. So, any questions before we get there?" She asked and my heart almost sank, 'We're almost out of time?! Shit, I better think of something…'

"Uh, yes! What does your name mean?" I asked and I internally face palmed, 'How lame was that? Come on! You could do better!'

"It means stars. It was meant as symbol of what my mother used as magic. She was a celestial wizard apparently. But I never knew her." She said and I immediately cursed my stupidity.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. I just really liked your name, it's beautiful." I said while scratching my head embarrassedly, but when I looked at her she was blushing slightly.

"Thank you, that means a lot actually. I loved my mother even though I didn't know her. I love the name too, it's my reminder of her. So yeah thank you." She said and I smiled at her, a smile she returned, "So, what does your name? Sutōmu, what a strange name."

I laughed and said, "Yeah, but it's a play on my parent's magic. Water and Ice both come down in storms. And Sutōmu means storm. So yeah, that's how I got my name." I looked at her and smiled, putting my hands behind my head so I looked relaxed. I was anything but, 'Oh man, what should I do? Should I make a move or get to know her more? Fuck, normally I'd have fucked her and already forgotten her name. But she actually makes me want to get to know her. Fuck. This is bad. I may have actually fallen for her. And she is a freelancer, meaning I won't likely be seeing her too often. Fuck you, my heart. Fuck you and your machinations. Why her?'

(POV Change back to Hoshi)

I looked at Sutōmu as he looked very calm, and wondered if I was any different than any other girl. 'Does he actually like me, or does like my body? Then again, maybe I don't really want to know that. I can't be with him, I simply can't. Can I?' I looked up, and saw that we had arrived at the place, _La Siesta. _"Oh we're here. Well that was easy enough, huh?"

"Yeah, let's hope they're here. I'd rather not lose to Maks." Sutōmu said and I nodded, wanting very badly to make sure he won. "I wonder how he's doing anyways, he seems to not like your friend very much."

I laughed and said, "Ah, don't worry. They'll be fine I'm sure of it."

(POV Change to Joi)

I dodged a chair that was thrown at me, and punched one of the thugs coming at me. "Steel!" I said and a block wording of steel appeared behind me, and then formed a shield as two more thugs charged. They couldn't stop in time and ran into the shield, being knocked out cold. "Fire!" I yelled and then crossed my arms, casting the heat spell on top of my fire. The word fire then came forth but was blue, and then attacked another thug. The spell hit and the thug went down, trying to put out the fire.

Maks punched one thug that was charging at me as he dealt with one of the guys we were looking for, Karr Strauss. "Cool it Strauss! We just wanna take you with us so your family can meet you!" Maks said as I punched another thug who was charging.

"Bullshit! You're from Fairy Tail alright, but I have a bounty on me now. I ain't trusting any guild mage! Requip: Lion Soul!" Karr yelled and his armor now resembled a lion.

He charged at Maks quickly and I stepped up, yelling, "Water!" A solid block word of water appeared and went towards Karr. It hit him and as I suspected, like a cat he recoiled at the water. I sweat dropped at how that actually worked but Maks wasted no time.

"Lightning Dragon's Roar!" He yelled and a flurry of lightning hit Karr. And everyone else near him. Everyone who was hit went down, spasming from lightning. "Whew, capture complete."

"Yeah, but that was too close! Eisenwald was here too! Are those two guys part of Eisenwald now?" I said and Maks shook his head.

"No, they are part of what seems to be some new coalition. Look he's actually a member of Übel, another dark guild. They must be working together now. But either way, you're right. This is bad. We need to warn Hoshi and Sutōmu! Let's go!" Maks said and I nodded, and soon with Karr in tow, we were off to find our friends before it was too late.

(POV Change back to Hoshi)

"Okay, before we go in, we'll need a cover story." I said and Sutōmu nodded, "Okay, so we are both freelance mages. We are looking for some work, and that's why we came here. Less restrictions on the jobs available."

"Okay, sounds decent enough. Definitely simple enough. Let's do it." Sutōmu said and I led us inside the café.

As soon we walked inside, we saw that no one was inside. "Hello?" I asked out loud to see if anyone was there.

Surprisingly enough, there was a response, but it was creepy, "Hello there." I looked to see the man we were looking for, Mern Geer, and what seemed to be like twenty other mages.

Sutōmu noticed and said, "Well Shit… It was a trap." I nodded and looked at what seemed like it could very well be my end, "Are you Mern Geer?"

"Yes, I am. The last of the great Geers. And you?" Mern said, his voice creepily deep. He looked even creepier, his eyes red and his face very dark in the shadows. It was then that I realized that he had no hands. Then I remembered who he was, one of the men who betrayed Ronin at the second battle versus Fairy Tail. He lost his hands after he lost to Esoj, who cut them off for his betrayal.

"I am Sutōmu Fullbuster. This is Hoshi. And we are here to take you in." Sutōmu said, and I looked at him, noticing something was off. His eye were different now, they were mainly black with a white ring in them. It was then I realized what it meant, he was in his demon slayer mode.

"Ha! Unlikely. Go." Mern said and the thugs charged at us.

I stepped forward and said, "Fire Dragon's Machine Gun!" Bullets of fire spewed from two of my fingers and mowed down at least half of the thugs with Mern. Then I charged, with Sutōmu behind me. Although I think he was surprised by what he had just seen. It is not every day you see a dragon slayer.

But I think Mern was more surprised, the son of the man who defeated his brother and a dragon slayer? That is something you would never see twice. Hopefully for us, because then that means we won. "Ice Demon's Geyser!" Sutōmu yelled and quickly dispatched another five thugs with a torrent of ice. The last five looked around to see that they were all alone now. "Ice Demon's Arrow!" Sutōmu yelled and this time a group of arrows flew from his ice bow. How he had an ice bow I do not know but it worked. The last five thugs went down and now it was just Mern and us. "Now we're even Hoshi. I got ten, you got ten."

"Really? That's what you're worried about?! Focus! We have a demon in front of us." I said and looked at Sutōmu. He was smiling but I just shook my head at him.

"Oh so you know I am a demon? Good, then let me show you my etherious form." Mern said, and then he transformed. He gained wings and had a mask on his face. But his wings looked partially clipped and his arms were just stubs now.

It would seem we both noticed this and charged, yelling, "Fire Dragon's Roar!" "Ice Demon's Rage!" two beams came forth and then swirled together in mid air, becoming a unison raid mid air. 'A unison raid! Oh my, that means our hearts are close! YES!'

The attack hit Mern dead on, even though he had a shield up. The attack went through the shield and soon enough, Mern was up against the wall, unconscious. "Well, that was anti-climatic. We beat him in one move."

I laughed and said, "Yeah, but hey. We are still tied now. Ten and a half apiece."

Sutōmu looked at me and smiled, "Yeah, you are right. How about this. Since we tied, I'll take you to dinner tonight. And I'll pay the bill."

I smiled at him and said, "It's a date then." I then internally freaked out, realizing what I had just done. 'Wait! I'm supposed to not think about him! That's why I took this mission! And now I have a date with him! Well shit…'

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**A/N: Hahaha, that was fun. And much easier knowing that I have a good amount of time between updates. Well I hope you guys liked it. See yu guys Saturday and have a happy new year! Remember! READ AND REVIEW! ADIOS!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: S-Class Candidacy and A Plot Explosion

**A/N: Hello! Due to plot development related reasons, we will be seeing a little bit from Fairy Tail's side of things. And a third, unknown party. I'm not gonna say who, but let's just say, EVIL! (Used his best Mermaid Man voice) SO ENJOY!**

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Naito- Ronin Guildhall Meeting Room May 30th X818 (Natsu POV)

The founders of the guild piled into the room, one after the other. All except Gajeel, who was most likely still working on Droy. Or so I thought he would be, until he burst in. I was just about to start talking, then he burst in angry looking. Levy who I had not noticed being absent followed him. "Should I ask what has you so pissed off, Steel-Breath?" I asked, knowing that it may be childish, but if he got angry at me, then he might not kill Droy. Might. We needed Droy alive. He was our only lead into what Eisenwald was up to.

"He. Ain't. Fucking. Talking. AT ALL! That bastard is not the same bastard I knew back then. He's actually tough now. I had to stop myself from killing him. TWICE. Mother fucker kept spitting on me." Gajeel responded and now I knew was he was so angry. He knew it wasn't going to work. He knew he was about to fail.

Gōsuto sighed and said, "I was worried he would be impossible to crack. His mind felt off when I put him in those nightmares. Like he had become a whole different person. I could sense the guy you probably knew, but that guy was only a small portion of his brain."

Esoj looked at Gōsuto and asked, "And you're telling us this now?!"

Gōsuto looked up and said, "I didn't see how that can help us. I still don't."

Rai spoke up then and said, "The old part of him, did it say anything to you?"

Gōsuto looked at him like he was an idiot and said, "Dude, it was a piece of his soul. Not a fucking ghost!"

"Shut up! All of you! Gōsuto!" I yelled and the three stopped bickering. I was irritable, as I had discovered Hoshi and Joi had taken an S-Class mission by mistake. Someone was in trouble later on today for putting the job on the wrong board. "Did you notice anything else in his mind that seemed odd to you?" I asked as calmly as possible.

Gōsuto shook his head and said, "No. But what the old Droy did was weird. He looked like he was talking to a guy, while swooning at a girl." Immediately I face palmed, as did Lucy, Levy, and Gajeel, "What?" Gōsuto asked.

"He was swooning over me, he was obsessed with me when we were younger. Was the guy he was talking to thin and have orange hair?" Levy said as Gajeel started mumbling about he hated them all.

"Uh, yeah he did." Gōsuto said and Levy nodded.

"Then one thing about him has not changed. And that means only one person can reach him: Jet." Levy said and Gajeel looked annoyed now.

"Do we have to bring him here? You know he annoys me." Gajeel asked.

"Too late. I already told Levy to get him out here. He'll be here tomorrow." I said, and Gajeel glared at me. I shrugged and said, "If you had been able to break him he wouldn't be coming, dumbass."

Gajeel just about snapped and came at me. I merely punched him in the face and he went flying into the wall. Lucy sighed and said, "Natsu leave him be. Egging him on won't help anyone. And stop worrying about Hoshi, you said yourself she is S-Class material. Let this be a trial run to see if she is. Unless you want to reconsider her involvement." I knew Lucy was just trying to get me to rescind the idea of letting Hoshi participate in the upcoming S-Class trials.

I sighed and sat back down. "No, you're right she'll be fine." I said and Lucy pouted, knowing her plan had failed, "Speaking of S-Class trials. It is time for you to know who will be participating. The candidates are: Hoshi Dragneel, Joi Redfox, Ridvan Katrici, Caden Jacobs, Ran Anoren, Jude Mars, Gōsuto Jr., Junaid Kokinos, Konstantin Karim, and Arnold Tum. They take place in exactly one week."

"Huh, my contacts also tell me Fairy Tail is doing there's then." Nena said, and looked at me. My face probably told her what she though and said, "You knew that though. What is the task they have to complete, Natsu?"

I looked at everyone and smirked, then said, "They will have to do something that is truly something only a truly skilled mage can do. They must sneak onto Tenrou Island, and find the grave of the first master of Fairy Tail. I will greet the first person to arrived there myself. And along the way, they must defeat one of the S-Class candidates from Fairy Tail, while avoiding a specific S-Class from here. They will start their journey from this very guildhall, and then must find a boat that will take them there. The boat should be able to get them onto Tenrou, then they will have to find a path taken by the Fairy Tail Mages. I know they will do what we had to do when we first took part in S-Class trials, remember Luce?" She nodded and I continued, "So then they must defeat the mage they find. Then they must find the grave. This will be the S-Class trial."

Everyone looked dumbfounded. The tension in the room had risen to a level that I did not think possible. I could have cut the tension in the room with my finger, it was so thick. Everyone in the room had a look on their face that said, 'Are you fucking crazy?! We can't do this!' Then as if on cue, Lucy spoke up, "Natsu, come on, we can't do this. We may not be friends with them, but we also have to be somewhat respectful to them. And you and I both know that messing with their S-Class trials is extremely disrespectful. And the first master's grave! You know the old man will literally roll over in his grave if we do that! We need to be respectful!"

"Well let him roll around. He's dead and his grandson is in charge. Either way though, we are. Being respectful I mean. I already arranged this as our trials with Laxus. Yes we actually talked like two normal guild masters." I said to them, specifically Lucy who looked even more shocked now, "It's why I needed ten mages. He wouldn't go lower than ten mages. He wants to see if anyone in his guild is strong enough to beat our mages. It's how I know everything about their trials. But he knows nothing of ours." I said, and everyone gawked in disbelief.

"You and Laxus agreed on an idea?! And your idea no less I'm assuming." Levy said, and Gajeel actually was speechless for once. Fucking finally.

But then I surprised them even more, "He was actually the one who contacted me about this. Yup, this was his idea." A pen dropped again and I heard the door creak open a little, "Trust me, I'd rather not fuck with them. Leave them be and forget my time in that guild. That would make my life so much better. But life is not like that. As we all know. Oh, and there is one other thing they must do. They must figure out from a clue where their boat is. And I'm not saying where, because it would seem we have a young visitor to our meeting. Ah actually visitors. San. Bukku. Why are you two here?" I asked and the two ten year olds opened the door all the way.

They looked embarrassed at being caught, so they looked down. "We just wanted to know if we could go into town for some ice cream. It's so hot!" San said, and Bukku nodded. I sighed, my son was unlike me in that he liked cold foods along with hot foods. Bukku was Gajeel's son, so I have no clue why he wanted to go.

I looked at Lucy and said, "Call Virgo to go with them. San, Bukku, no magic in town. You can't control it that well yet. Actually, San why don't you call out Gemini to go with you? Let's see how long you can keep them out for. And here's your money." I handed him the money as he called out Gemini. "Gemini, don't let them do anything else other than buy ice cream. Got it? Good now go, we're in the middle of a meeting. Have fun you guys." I smiled and waved goodbye as they left, saying thank you as they went.

"Wait a minute. Did you just cuss in front of the kids?" Lucy asked and I face palmed.

The kids stopped walking, so I shooed them away, saying, "Leave now! Luce stay focused." Lucy pouted at me, but kept quiet as the kids left.

I watched as they closed the door and then turned my attention back to the rest of the founders. I sighed and asked, "Ok what else do we need to talk about?"

"The rise of a new dark guild alliance. They call themselves The Reich." Kurayami said, and I turned to see him behind me. He may not have been a founder in terms of being a mage, but he was our information guru.

I sighed and asked, "Really? Who's in it?"

"It's almost all of the dark guilds we know. And more are joining, this thing is getting bigger by the day. We need to find the leader." Kurayami said and everyone was deadly silent. A pen literally fell and everyone could hear it. A cricket even managed to get in and make its sounds, or so it seemed. Esoj coughed and still no one said a word.

Finally Gōsuto asked, "Dad are you serious?"

"Yes. Deathly so." Kurayami said to his son, and everyone mumbled in surprise. The coalition was news to everyone, not one of their criminal contacts had heard of this. Not even Rai who had been a dark mage before, albeit twenty years ago. He knew the most seedy people I had ever met, and yet he had not heard of this. If this was the case, then we might be in trouble.

"Okay. Who are the big players here? Which guilds?" I asked and everyone looked at Kurayami.

"Übel, Eisenwald, Shi, and one I do not know. The one I don't know is of course the one who started this coalition. But I do know the name of their leader however. Floda Reltih." Kurayami said.

I sat back in my seat and whistled, surprised that so many guilds had risen up together and were now working together. And these were no ordinary dark guilds. These were the strongest ones around. I sighed, and said, "Gajeel. Get back to work on Droy. We need information now. Rai, go and see where these guilds are located. Find out who leads them and how many there are in each guild. Esoj and Nena, start preparing rosters of fighting groups with other guilds. Namely Sabertooth and Fairy Tail. Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale too. Luce and Levy, get to work on making sure the chairman knows why I am late to our meeting. Kurayami you were right to call this meeting. If I had let everyone leave before hearing this then we would be in trouble. Now go! Do your new jobs!" Everyone nodded and left, off to do their jobs. I sighed deeply knowing that war was upon once again. But the S-Class Trials came first. They had to. Laxus needed the reminder of whose guild was the strongest. I walked outside, and went to find a dragon, so I could get to Era as soon as possible. I prayed nothing happened while I was gone.

Magnolia – May 30th X818 (Laxus POV)

I sat watching the guild members drink and chit-chat. I looked around and looked to see Gray and Juvia sitting, laughing, and watching as well, laughing at something stupid most likely. I sighed and took a drink of whatever Mira had given me, I didn't really pay attention to what she said. I was too preoccupied with a decision at the moment.

'Who would make a good S-Class mage? There's Sutōmu, he's strong. And Maks of course, he's also strong. But then, I don't really know. There is the former Ronin guy, Esmond Midgely. He's not half bad and he's pretty smart. But still. After those three, I'm not sure. Maybe Cobra's kid, Rye. He's not half bad. Or Erza'a kid, Rosa. She's like her mother but her upside is limited. Hmmm, there is Cana's son, Marco Jr., but he's still young.' I sighed and looked at Cana, who was busy reading fortunes for the kids, 'She only herself just returned to duty as a guild member about three years ago. Before that, she just wandered around Fiore getting drunk as possible. Three times she almost died, each time almost taking Gildarts with her due to him having heart attacks. Damn did Lucy mess up her fucking brain. Ruined her confidence. If she hadn't met her husband, Marco Olop, then she probably would have died. Thank gods he's a conservative who doesn't drink. Made her stop drinking so much and now she's actually helpful. But her son is the user of a magic that no one here uses. Air magic. AIR MAGIC! We had someone who could use a form of air magic but now she's gone! Fuck we need Wendy. Porylusica can only do so much.'

I sighed and took a drink, and I realized it wasn't even alcoholic. "Mira! Where is my beer?" I yelled at Mira from my spot near the bar. It was near, but not at the bar. I like my spot because I could see everyone and yell at whoever I needed to.

"Olive said no drinking for you before noon. It's only nine in the morning." Mira responded and I sighed. If it was my wife's doing, then I have no say in it. She was only looking for me, which fucking sucked. It's way fucking easier to get over my current state of my mind drunk.

"Yes Sparky, it is true. I did cut you off from early morning drinking, you need a clear head. The announcement is in one week and you only have six candidates. You said you need at least ten. So get working, I'll be here if you need help." Olive said and I only just realized she had been here the whole time.

"Thanks, but first I need some air. I didn't realize you were here I was so lost in my thoughts. I'm going on a walk, if you wanna come with then you're welcome too. If not, then oh well." I said and I stood up. Olive nodded and stood up with me, I turned to Mira and said, "Hold down the fort while I'm gone. I'll be back later." Mira nodded and I took Olive's hand.

We walked outside and I smelled the air. It smelled frilly and like flowers. I didn't like the smell. It smelled like a funeral, or like a flower shop. I fucking hate both. "Oh my, you hate this smell. I can tell, you're trying to break my hand right now. Calm yourself please Sparky." Olive said and I looked down to see that she was right.

I let go and said, "Sorry, I just hate this smell. It reminds me of Jiji's funeral. They brought so many fucking flowers. Way too fucking many. Might as well have buried him in the flowers rather than the coffin." I looked at Olive and she looked at me disapprovingly, "I know, I know. Stop being a drag. I can't help it though. I feel like I fucked up with Jiji. I betrayed him when I was younger, then I wasn't strong enough to stop Natsu from killing or strong enough to avenge him, and then I let Gray take over the funeral day. I should have gone last, it would have been better. At least for Jiji's memory. And now the guild has lost its way. We've lost so many people and now only get the shitty mages."

"So what? Jiji would still be proud of you. You're doing you're very best to keep this place together. And the guild is still a place for those who have had a troubled past. Just like Jiji would have wanted. Trust me, you've done well. The size and strength of a guild don't necessarily matter. Just the size of the hearts in it." Olive said, causing me to look at her, "That's what Jiji told me not to long ago. Since he can become a ghost now, we meet sometimes. He may never tell you to your face, but he is proud of you. But he wants you hungry to do your best too. So keep going."

I looked at her, dumbfounded by what she had just told me. Then I realized she was undoubtedly right. There was no fucking need to be the strongest, but to be a safe haven to all. And being strong can come from that. I nodded at her, then smelled something else in the air. Rather someone else. Someone I had not seen in a little over nineteen years. I turned and saw that it was indeed the person who I believed it to be, "Wendy?!"

There she was, Wendy Marvell our resident Air Dragon Slayer, all grown up and normal looking. "Yes master Laxus. It is Wendy Marvell. It has definitely been a while. Doranbolt told me it has been almost twenty years. How are you?" She said and I could not believe it. It was definitely her voice, just more mature. And Doranbolt was with her as well, happy as can possibly be. We hadn't seen him in years, not since a development had happened with Wendy. I guess we know what happened.

"I'm-I'm good. But that doesn't fucking matter! How the hell are you even here! I thought…" I said, but Wendy cut me off by holding up her hand. While she may be back, I could tell her confidence was at an all time high. She looked like an adult, and an S-Class mage.

"I have been deemed stable enough to return to a normal life, away from the hospital. So here I am. Here to stay. Now, are you going to stare at me like I'm some sort of alien or will you take me back to my home? Back to Fairy Tail?" She asked and I nodded.

I realized we were still close to the guild, so I then motioned behind me, bowing almost. It was still within sight and I said, "Well then, welcome home Wendy. We have missed you. Especially Porylusica."

At the mention of Porylusica, Wendy smiled even more, "She is still alive?! Yes, oh how I've missed her. Come on Doran! We have people to catch up with!" She grabbed Doran's hand and they both ran off, back to the place they call home. But then she stopped suddenly and turned around, her face serious as she said, "Oh and master Laxus. I fully expect the opportunity to participate in the S-Class trials."

She turned back around and continued her trek back to the guildhall, leaving me dumbfounded. 'Well, it would seem there are seven candidates now. She's crazy for suggesting it, but I have no choice. Oh wait! Romeo's twins are good enough for candidacy! Red and Yellow Conbolt. And then there is also Sutōmu's sister, Ame. Well there we go! Those ten will undergo the trial in one week from now! On our sacred island of Tenrojima! And we'll show Natsu what true strength really is.'

I turned to walk back to the guild, and I heard a massive cheer. It would appear they have discovered Wendy was home. I smiled and put an arm around Olive, then we walked back, a smile on our faces. It looked like things were looking up for Fairy Tail. Finally.

(POV Change to Floda Reltih) Unknown Location

I walked through the halls of the base where I was staying. I looked around and only saw grey, everything was grey. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, hell even the people I saw looked grey. Then again, I don't actually see colors. Just shapes. I have always been like this, complete color blindness. But I am not blind, I can see everything people see, just not color. I walked past another man and he said, "Good morning Herr Reltih!" I looked at him as he saluted, and I smiled at him. It was nice to know that those who knew even only my face would treat me with such respect.

"Morning. I seem to have forgotten your name or have not yet met you. What is your name? And how are we today?" I asked and could see his pale grey face smile. Making sure that those who followed me knew they also had a friend in me was the key to my success.

"Ah, no we have not! My name is Hans Strauss. And I am well my Führer. I was actually told to find you and escort you to the meeting room, our agent has returned. He awaits you." Hans said and I smiled at him.

"You have done your job well! Walk with me." I said and nodded, a smile on his face that said I was making his day, "Tell me Hans, can you use magic?"

"Yes. I am a metal mage. Not one of those dragon slayer mage types but I can control metal." Hans said.

"Ah very good. Tell me, what is your job here?" I asked him.

"I am a platoon leader, sir." He said but I could hear that his enthusiasm had lessened. 

"Oh, and do you believe yourself capable of more?" I asked, "Be honest with me, my young Hans."

"To be honest, yes I do believe so. I feel that I am strong enough both mentally and physically. At least at a lieutenant's level." Hans said, and I could sense his confidence.

I smiled at him and nodded. I clapped my hands and a guard appeared from nowhere. He stood at attention, and I said, "Hans, this is Anton. He is one of my elite guard, as strong as any Colonel in this organization. If you can last as long as the meeting takes, then the promotion you desire is yours. Anton, kämpfen, zu töten, wenn er überlebt die dauer meinem treffen dann lebt er. Now fight." I walked away, and as soon as I was out of range I could hear the fight begin. I smirked and wondered if young Hans would last even five minutes.

I walked to the meeting room, and entered the room quietly. The room however seemed to have been waiting for me, as they all stood and saluted me, yelling, "Hail Führer Reltih!"

I smiled at them, and waved them down saying, "Thank you but sit. We have much to discuss and very little time to discuss it. Leopold, how goes the recruitment effort?" I asked this to the man in charge of recruitment, my brother Leopold Reltih.

"It goes as expected brother. We gain new followers daily. These guilds as they call them flock to a strong leader such as yourself." Leopold said.

"No, they flock to the promise of a better life under me. I am only a man doing what is right. To give everyone the chance at a better life is what I strive for, and what we hope to accomplish here. Anyone of you could do this as well. Now, Ewald. How goes the training?" I asked my right-hand man, Ewald Franz. He was my closest friend and the one I trusted the most, for he had believed in me since day one.

"It goes as well as could be hoped for my Führer. Those who are strong in magic are progressing well and those who are not struggle. But we must train everyone, no?" Ewald said and I nodded, "Then the training is successful per your directive, my Führer."

"Very well then. Rupert how goes the raising of finances? Is our vault full of money, or what they call jewels here?" I asked my finance officer, Rupert Von Kamp. He was a shrewd business man whom I had met when I was but a teenager. He swindled me out of my lunch money faster than I could say 'what?' and ever since then he has handled my money. Who better to trust with money than a man that can make money faster than a man can blink?

"Very well. Although we lost a source of it when a man named Nikola was captured in what is called New Hargeon. He was a narcotics dealer, and a good one too. I had set his prices just right, and he was excellent at distribution and collecting. It is a harsh loss." Rupert said, but then added, "But oh well, I already have a new man doing his job. We still make money daily, in the hundreds of millions of it. We control the underworld black market here. It is yours to command my Führer."

"Good my friend. Now, Erwin…" I started, but was then interrupted.

The interruption was the door flying open, a body being thrown down behind me. Everyone in the room gasped, and murmured their surprise. I turned around and saw two bodies. One dead and limp, and the other slightly tired but otherwise fine. I looked at him and smiled, saying, "Good work young Hans. That was only seven minutes."

"My Führer I apologize. It seems I lied to you earlier. I am at the level of Colonel." Hans said, and I laughed at his confidence.

And I was pleased with his ambition, it is not every man that can ask his leader for a promotion so openly. And the talk to him as if he were an equal. This was a man I desired to be in my inner circle. "Well then, welcome to the meeting then. Colonel Hans Strauss, please take the seat next to Erwin. Marie! Bring me his file." I said, and people started shifting. Marie my personal secretary shuffled to find Hans' file while Erwin adjusted his seat to allow Hans to sit next to him. I readjusted my tie as it had gotten out of order when I stood up, and then said, "Okay. Erwin. As I was saying, how goes the effort to infiltrate the guilds I inquired about?"

He looked at me nervously, and I immediately knew he had failed. "I- I – I apologize my Führer. I have failed to find a person capable of integrating themselves into the guilds known as Fairy Tail and Ronin." He looked down after his report, and he was right to. He had failed miserably, and he had a whole year to accomplish the job.

I stood and walked around the room, "Erwin you have had how long to accomplish this?"

"One- one year my Führer." He said shakily, knowing he was in deep shit.

"Yes, one full year. One fucking full year!" I said as I finally reached my destination, directly behind Erwin. He was my information guru, but like most in his profession he was a coward. A gossip really, knows so much yet not how to really get the information dirtily. I had slammed my fist on the table when I had spoke, knocking over his coffee. I looked at him and asked, "Do you know what I do to those who fail so badly?"

Now he knew he was doomed, as he yelled out, "NO! Wait my Führer, please! I…"

"My Führer, if I may interject." Hans said and I looked at him, I was quietly seething now but allowed him to speak by nodding, "I know I am new to this council, but I do believe I can assist my brother Erwin here. You see, my last name of Strauss, while common in our homeland, is not here. And in this case, it is very close to me. You will see in my file that I have mage relatives here." Hans said, and motioned Marie forward.

She came forward and handed me the file. I opened it and looked at it, seeing where he was going with this. Then I saw what he meant and laughed in complete glee, "Is what is on here true my young Hans?"

"Yes my Führer. The names you see on there are indeed my cousins, which is why I wish to interject. I offer my services to complete one half of the mission placed on Erwin. I have actually met them once, when I was younger. I am twenty-five as you can see, and they treated me like a son when I was with them at age twelve. It will be like the return of the prodigal son for them. My only request is that you leave brother Erwin alive, sir. I place my life and his on the success of this mission." Hans said, and stood saluting me. Erwin, seeing his chance at survival, rose as well and saluted me.

I nodded, still laughing slightly, and said, "Very well young Hans. I approve of your request, and am sending you on your now with Erwin. Erwin, remember this kindness given to you by young Hans, for he has saved your life. Do not fail me so terribly again. Both of you are dismissed." I said and they saluted me again and left the room.

I sighed and walked back to my seat as they left. I sat down as they closed the door and Ewald asked, "My Führer, what names were on that file?"

I smiled and said, "Why his cousins of course. From his mother's side, who was the sister of their late mother.. The famous duo from Fairy Tail. Elfman and Mirajane Strauss." Everyone in the room made an 'ooooh' sound and began laughing. I smiled and thought to myself, 'My my, young Hans you have a bright future ahead of you. You even managed to kill Anton, my strongest guard. I wait for your return to my side as an even stronger man.' I readjusted my tie again a it got loose during my moment of anger and said, "Well, now that that's complete, we have a war to start planning. A country awaits us, and we will conquer it! For the weapon we seek is here. Now, agent report."

A man stepped out of the shadows, and he smiled at me. He then said, "Infiltration complete. I am firmly secure in this country's magic council." I nodded, smirking triumphantly. This war would be over in a matter of weeks, no one could stop us now. Not even Natsu Dragneel.

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**A/N: BOOM! Plot explosion! It would seem that June 7****th**** will be an important day once again. And if you can figure out where I'm getting these names from or what they actually mean, I'll give you a special treat! This was long! Sorry if it's longer than how you like chapters but this is how it's going to be. Shorter story, longer chapters. Not one shot long, but around this long. Hopefully. Well I hope you enjoyed it regardless! Remember! READ AND REVIEW! ADIOS!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Wow…

**A/N: (Sniffle) I am so sad! Not because of this story, but because of the manga! Damn you Hiro! How could you… Natsu just found him for fuck's sake! Goddamn! If you read the manga you will understand my sadness/anger. If not then read it! It's so fucking amazing. Well it has also poked a major hole in my last story, well a hole maybe not major but still. Oh well. Oh and the Wednesday update day has been moved up to Tuesday to balance out the week better. OH AND IF YOU DID NOT NOTICE THE TITLE HAS BEEN CHANGED TO LOVE SUCKS FROM IS LOVE REALLY FAIR?! ENJOY THIS CHAPTER WHILE I MOURN!**

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Naito- Ronin Guildhall Meeting Room June 1st X818 (Gajeel POV) Six days to S-Class Trials

I cracked my knuckles and looked at the sleeping figure of Droy. He looked peaceful for the first time in his stay here. His breathing was even, he had a peaceful look on his face, albeit his face was swollen. Instead of his usual pale complexion, his face was black and blue, with cuts all over his face. I sighed, not necessarily happy that I had to do this. I had tried hard to forget and change from my time in Phantom Lord, but some things never leave you. And interrogation of dark mages is one of those things. I chuckled as I looked at him, remembering how he used to be so innocent and dumb. Droy had been a Fairy Tail mage like myself, was one before me actually. But after Levy and I joined Natsu and his new guild, we lost contact with Droy and his butt buddy Jet. At least every day contact, Levy kept in touch but it seemed we missed something. I walked up to Droy and saw his Eisenwald guild mark, the dark reminder of why he was tied up and beaten. We needed information.

I grabbed Droy by the head, then smashed his head into the table he was sitting at. I swore I heard the bones in his nose break, the amount of blood gushing from his nose made it look like it. And the fact that his nose was crooked also told me I broke it. "MY NOSE! You mother fucker! You fucking broke it!" Yup I definitely broke it.

I smirked and said, "Good morning bitch. How did you sleep?"

"Fucking amazing until you broke my fucking nose! I had an amazing dream though. I was banging Levy while you watched. And she was loving it! Hahahaha!" Droy said and it took every bit of my will power to not kill him. But then I relented and punched him in the nose again, "Ah! MY NOSE!"

"Shut the fuck up. You keep talking like that and I'll break more than your nose." I said, my voice dangerous and low letting him know how I serious I was. I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and said, "Now, you wanna talk or keep trying to act tough. And don't lie, I know this is an act. You aren't this, you aren't a criminal. You're an adoring fan boy who cares about his friends. You were a teacher right?"

"Ha! That was the worst mistake I ever made. How could I willingly allow myself to fall all the way to a magic teacher. I fucking hate kids. They whine and complain, just like your wife. Levy McGarden, biggest whiner I have ever met. And I taught in Era for a year, those kids were spoiled. Levy, just fucking like 'em. They should have just realized that being kid sized meant you were a bitch like them." Droy said and I had had enough of him insulting Levy.

I pulled my hand back and transformed it into a sword, yelling "Steel Dragon's Sword!". I then jabbed it forward, right to where one of his arteries is so when he died it would be slow and painful. No one insults Levy like that and lives. No one. Regardless if I was told to let them live, or if they still had use. No one hurts her. NO ONE!

But before could I finish my death blow, I heard footsteps coming at me at a blinding speed. Then I felt my arm being held back, only inches from the artery. In fact, I nicked his leg enough to draw blood. But I didn't reach the artery. I growled and turned to see another idiot fan boy who was also the last hope of getting any information: Jet. He had a pained look on his face, bags under his eyes. His face was darker, he looked as if he hadn't been sleeping well at all. "Wow. That was close." He said in a voice that was quiet and somber. He did not sound like the same Jet that I knew either. But he also had just travelled across the country in a day and a half and stopped me from killing Droy.

He was barely in time, he had however still won the race, like he always did. I realized he was struggling to hold me back and he was holding my forearm. Which was sharp due to it being a sword. And his arm was cut, bleeding profusely. And he was breathing heavily, losing strength every second. I transformed my arm back to normal and stood up. As soon as my arm went back to normal Jet drooped down, and almost fell to the floor. I caught him and looked around. Luckily it would seem Levy's brains were still working as she had brought Ridvan, the guild medic mage, with her.

Ridvan looked horrified, there was blood everywhere, some of it fresh, some of it dry. It was quite evident what had been going on in there, Droy had been tortured heavily. Droy himself looked more like a very plump eggplant, all purple and shit. And he was still bleeding profusely, unable to stop it since the broken bone in his nose probably popped a blood vessel in his nose. Not to mention he was tied and cuffed down with rope and my spiked cuffs. I wondered how he was even still conscious as he said, "Jet. Why are you fucking here?" His voice was ragged as was his breathing, and the lighting in the room did a poor job of hiding the pain in his eyes. My eyes grew wider, he actually looked concern for Jet. His eyes looked pain not for himself, but for Jet. His facial features had also softened, he looked worried now. Before his eyes had been narrowed and cold, now they were wide and warmer. His cheeks also had relaxed some, his mouth slightly open in a small 'o' out of concern for the man he considered his brother.

"Ridvan!" I said looking away from the fan boy duo who looked like they were having a moment. Ridvan snapped out of it and looked at me, but still did not move yet. I sighed grumpily and said, "You gonna stand there with your mouth catching flies or you gonna save some fucking lives! Move it!" My voice was hard and let her know I wasn't gonna wait much longer.

She then realized her whole reason for being there and moved to where the fan boys were. She put her hands on Droy's nose and said, "Bone Cell Regeneration! Blood Cell Regeneration!" Almost immediately Droy's nose snapped back to normal and the blood that was all over him disappeared.

Droy took a deep breath in through his nose, then breathed out. He relaxed knowing that his nose legitimately was healed and then said, "Thank you. Now save Jet!"

Ridvan looked down at Jet and saw that he was in bad shape. It looked like I had severed some major blood vessels and he had lost a lot of blood. He was pale, and his breathing had slowed as well. I listened closely and barely heard his heartbeat, he really was dying. Ridvan jolted to life and put her hands on Jet, and then yelled, "Skin Cell Regeneration! Blood Cell Regeneration! Blood Vessel Cell Regeneration!" Immediately, Jet's arms healed and the blood on his arms disappeared. His skin regained its color, and I could hear his heart beating normally again. I breathed a sigh of relief, and then felt my face get slapped. I looked up to see Ridvan upset, her face spelling impending doom. If only she could back up that look, then she would actually be scary. But her cell magic only allowed her to bring cells back to life and repair themselves. She can't create or destroy cells. "That took almost all of my magic to save them. I can't do that again any time soon. You try and kill them now and I will personally have Esoj kill you. These men are now my patients and as such they are my responsibility. TREAT THEM WELL" Her voice was low and dangerous, but I still scoffed at her. Esoj doesn't scare me, no one here right now does. The only man I wouldn't fight was away with my dad on his way to Era. Then I heard Ridvan clear her throat and look at the fan boys. I could clearly tell she had started smiling as she said as nicely as possible, "Now you two, don't move for a while. And no fighting! Bye!"

The fan boys nodded and Ridvan turned to leave. She looked at me, glared really, and walked out of the room. I then heard a sigh that could only belong to one person I know and it made me cringe: Levy. And she was annoyed. "Jet, you've been here for five minutes and you managed to almost kill yourself. Gajeel, you are excused since I heard everything Droy said. Droy…" She said to each of us but stopped at Droy. I could smell the tears in her eyes, and I immediately went over to her. I pulled her into a hug but she continued anyways, "Droy. I don't even know if I should call you that. Because- because I barely even know you anymore. This is not the you I know." Then she turned around and said, "I'm going to leave you now. Gajeel, let them rest for now. We can get our answers later. Come on."

Levy sounded pained, she had known Droy had changed but not this much. I could hear her trying to shuffle away and I led her out of the room. As soon as the door closed I felt water on my hands, and I looked to see that Levy was crying, no sobbing now. She couldn't even stop to say where she wanted to go, her sobbing wracked her little body and I felt her pain. I felt how lonely she must have felt, to have the people you thought loved you or were at one point so close to you, betray you. I may not have truly experienced this as I had never really opened my heart too much, but I did lose someone like that. Belno, the old bat from the magic council. She had taken care of me and had made sure I stayed out of too much trouble. She had cared for me, but Tartarus killed her so many year ago. In this instance it was very much like that, Eisenwald had killed her friend Droy and had replaced him with this guy. And that broke her heart, and mine with it.

I picked Levy up, and unlike her usual reaction of embarrassment, she simply kept crying. Sobbing, I could feel her body shaking from the sadness. I simply kept walking away from where the people were, and off to our room. And then I felt a tear drip down my cheek. Like I had said, my heart was feeling her pain too. What greater pain could there be than watching the one you love have their heart broken?

I led her to our room and closed the door, then bolted it shut. I didn't want anyone disturbing us, and I really didn't want to see anyone seeing me cry. But that's what I did, I cried along with her, feeling her pain and letting her know I did. I would always feel her pain, because I loved her more than life itself. I just hoped that Jet could bring Droy back, or else I would be crying a whole lot more with Levy.

(POV Change to Jet)

I watched as Gajeel and Levy left, sadness on their faces. Levy had a look that told me she would be crying for a while. I sighed as even Gajeel looked a little shocked by what Levy had just said, she had just said she didn't know one of her best friends anymore. Droy however didn't look fazed. I looked at him and saw a look if indifference on his face. He was looking around and then asked, "Hey could you untie me? These bindings are annoying."

I gasped at his response, how could he not care what about what Levy had just said? So I asked him, "Do you not care that the girl we care about so deeply just told you that she barely even recognized you?"

He looked at me with a blank expression and said, "Why would I care about what a whiny bitch said? Now are you gonna untie me? I mean I would untie you if our roles were reversed." He sounded so nonchalantly that I wasn't sure that he was actually speaking. It was most definitely his voice, and I saw his lips move, but that was something Droy would never say. Never about Levy at least. NEVER. I looked as he struggled with the cuffs until he realized that the cuffs nor the ropes stopped him from using magic. Then he made a plant that cut the ropes and unlocked the cuffs. He sighed as the cuffs fell and he rubbed his wrists, grimacing as his wounds were still somewhat fresh. "Ah, that's better. So Jet, it's been a while. What have you been up to?"

I could not believe what I was witnessing, Droy was not Droy. He was someone else who just had to be disguised as Droy. This person just had to be! There was no way Droy could be so cruel to Levy. Or anyone really, Droy was a good man! He was a good teacher who got invited to train the brightest future mages in Era. And he was given the headmaster post in New Hargeon due to his personality. He was a man the council saw as someone who could raise the future mages in doing the right thing and not become like… like this fake Droy.

I stood up, and looked at Droy carefully. His eyes were still the same, just meaner looking. His face looked the same, just a little older with wrinkles and freckles from age. His body also looked the same, with the exception of the Eisenwald guild mark now on his chest. I could not believe that this man, who was my best friend for so long, would do something like insult the girl whom we loved. We both loved levy like a younger sister, and we treated her as such. We sure as hell didn't call her a bitch to her face or say she whined like a child. We would always see the best in her due to the fact that she was like a sister. Never would we be like this.

I stepped back from Droy and asked, "Who are you? And I mean who are you really?"

He looked surprised at my question, his face looking shocked that I was even asking this. "It's me! Droy! The guy who grew up with you and protected you! I'm the guy who formed the team with you and Levy! I'm the guy who retired with you when we realized we weren't getting the respect we deserved! I'm…" He said, but then looked at me. His face grew soft, his eyes going wide. He looked at his hands and started panting. He then looked back at me and said, "My gods… What have I become?! I-I-I don't even recognize my thoughts as my own anymore! I-I-I…" Then his face grew dark, like a shadow was cast on it.

Then in a deep voice, he said, "No, this is you! This is the man who gets respect!"

Then his face grew lighter again and looked like Droy from before, as he said, more like yelled, "NO! No! That's not me! I am not a criminal! I am not a killer! YOU ARE! GET OUT OF MY BRAIN!"

His face grew darker again and I realized that he had been under some sort of spell, and he was trying to fight it. "THIS IS YOU! BEFORE ME YOU WERE A LOSER!"

"I'D RATHER BE A LOSER THAN A KILLER! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!" Droy yelled as his face returned to normal.

I decided to end my silence and yelled, "Come on Droy! I know you can win!" Droy looked at me and then yelled out in pain. He grabbed his head and fell to the floor writhing in pain, and in his own blood. He yelled, and his body began bending every which way, almost as if he were putty. He was bending in ways that no human should, yelling so loud I doubt anyone couldn't hear him. "KEEP FIGHTING DROY! FOR LEVY AND ALL OF OUR FRIENDS!" I yelled, encouraging him to win.

Then he yelled, "GET OUT OF MY MIND!" And then, finally something happened. A bright light came from Droy's head, and then burst around the whole room. I heard a hissing sound, as if something like a vampire was dying, and then I looked at Droy. He had stopped rolling around in pain, and instead was laying on his back. He groaned, and sat up rubbing his head. He saw me and gasped happily, "Jet is that you?!" He asked happily and I nodded. He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug, and yelled, "Oh how I missed you! Man, I don't know where I've been lately, but I know I haven't seen you in a while. Hey by the way, where are we?"

He looked dead serious, happy to be with me but deadly serious. I blinked, completely confused. I scratched my head and said, "You, uh, you really don't remember?"

"Nope, last thing I remember was I was at a bar in New Hargeon. Talking to some guys about what I do. I do remember them saying something about deserving some respect, which I thought would be cool. Oh and they offered me a chance to, by going to this one guy who performed some spell…" Droy said, but stopped as he got to that part of his story. Then he looked at his hands again, and started shaking. "Jet! I- I-I must have been having a dream! I-I-I joined Eisenwald, then became a cold hearted killer! And then I became a leader and then was captured by Natsu's daughter. An-And then I-I-I… I insulted Levy to her face! Oh and Gajeel tortured me! Although that seems more believable huh? But still! Tell me I was dreaming!"

I looked at Droy, and could not hold his gaze. I looked down, and then he realized the truth. He started crying as he said, "NO! What have I done?! NO! NO! NO! I'm not a killer!"

"I know!" I yelled, crying all the meanwhile. "I know. But, while under the influence of that spell, you really did all of those things. And the Levy thing happened only an hour or so ago. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this."

"NO! LEVY!" he yelled, his face looking completely horrified by even the thought of that. He was now drenched in something other than his own blood, his own tears. He cried, and punched the floor.

He kept sobbing and I could only console him. I patted him on his back and did my best not to cry myself. My best friend had been tricked into becoming a bad guy. And now he was a killer who had alienated his figurative younger sister. And he still had that ugly reminder of his actions on his chest. I rubbed his back and said, "Come on Droy. We need to get you up and moving. We need to get you a bath, you're a mess. And to get that guild mark off of you. It's disgusting."

Droy looked at through eyes swollen from crying and nodded. He stood up slowly, and was barely able to stand. It would seem that the ordeal of a few minutes ago took a lot out of him. I tried to support his great weight, but could not. Not alone. Then I felt the weight lighten, and I turned to see the door open. Then I looked to see who was helping me, and was surprised to see Gajeel. "I heard all the screaming and came to check it out. Good work Jet. Now, Droy he was right you're a mess right now. I'll explain to Levy what happened and she'll understand. For now, let's get you cleaned up and fixed up. Then we'll talk to her. And then you'll start atoning for your sins. Got it?"

I noticed Gajeel had been crying as well, his eyes swollen from tears. I smirked, knowing the only reason he had cried was because Levy had been heartbroken. Levy had chosen a man that truly loved her. I felt Droy nod, and we started carrying him out to the nearest shower. Hoping to cleanse him of the craziness the last year had been for him.

(POV Change Back to Gajeel)

We dragged him to the nearest shower, and I told him, "Get in. We'll find you some clothes. And some food, you're probably hungry. Then we'll talk about everything you know, and you'll apologize to Levy." I looked at him as he nodded, his face sagging almost from the fatigue he had. I then stepped forward and grabbed the collar of his coat, and said menacingly, "You ever make Levy cry again, for whatever reason, I'll kill you. SLOWLY." I let my magic leak out, and I could tell he was scared. He looked small for once, his eyes matched that fact. He looked like his old self again. I laughed and let go, then smacked him on the back and I said, "Great to have you back fan boy! We'll talk after you clean up." Droy smiled meekly and walked into the shower room.

When the door closed I turned to Jet and nodded at him, telling him to spill. Jet sighed, and began, "So it apparently started over a year ago. He was at his head master job in New Hargeon, had been for a year already. He must have been feeling pretty down though because he went to a bar. And at said bar he met some guys who probably had been targeting him." I looked at him skeptically, but he just shrugged and said, "I know, I'm filling in some blanks here. Not making anything up just speculation as to why they chose him. So the guys offer him a chance to get respect and he thought it would be something he wanted. So he went with them," I shot Jet a look and he sighed, "Yes I know how gullible can he be. But he's a guy who would rather not be paranoid about everyone. So as I was saying, he went with them. Then a man performed a spell and made Droy into the man he was. It was if a parasite was in his brain, it was finally killed or something though. He finally realized he wasn't himself and then he fought with it. But that's as much as I know, when Droy talks to you, he'll tell you more."

I whistled after he finished his story, surprised that Droy had gone through so much. Jet nodded solemnly, as if to reassure me that it was all true. I looked and found Rai, and I motioned him over. He looked at me strangely but still walked over. He looked at me questioningly as he did and I just motioned him over again, an annoyed look on my face. Rai however just looked tired, as if the looking into guild locations was taxing. "What do you want Gajeel? I'm busy you know."

His voice sounded annoyed and tired, and his face matched. His eyes had bags under them and the lighting showed how he hadn't shaved. "It's been a day. HOW can you be so tired?" I asked and Rai yawned. He really was tired.

"I have been searching the entire time, and I'm using my light magic to do it. Like Gōsuto, I can use my magic to locate people. I have been searching the entirety of Fiore for over twenty hours now, and I have only covered a quarter of it. A FUCKING QUARTER!" He sounded extremely tired and frustrated. His hands were balled into fists in front of his face and he was shaking slightly.

I sighed and patted him on the shoulder, then asked, "Have you found any?"

"Yes." He said, relaxing slightly, "I found Übel they are just north of New Boa. In the mountains there. But they are extremely well protected. We would be committing suicide with a frontal assault on their complex." He looked deadly serious about that and I knew he was right as well. If they were in the mountains we would lose people just trying to climb the mountain. Not to mention that we would have to enter the complex somehow once we got up there. And I was no supreme strategist that was Kurayami.

I nodded and then said, "Ok good work so far. Take a break, get some food, sleep, and take a shower you reek." He was about to protest, probably to say he could keep going, but I put my hand up and said, "I'm in charge while Natsu is gone, so do as I say. Oh and find Ridvan for me so she can look at Droy. He seems to be back to normal."

Rai made a 'Hmmm' sound, his lips pursed as he debated whether or not to listen to me. Then he sighed and nodded, turning around to go and find Ridvan and some food for himself. I sighed as well, thinking to myself, 'Wow. This is what being a leader is like. I'm glad Natsu's in charge, that poor bastard has to go through a lot. Well I better get ready, Droy and I will be having a nice long chat when he's ready.' I turned around to see Jet leaning on the wall, asleep. I laughed and flung him over my shoulder, 'Better find him a bed so he won't be pissed at me for letting him sleep like that. Or Levy will get pissed for letting him, I'm not sure who would get mad more. Oh well, he is like that annoying in-law that I have to take care of. He is family.' I groaned at my thoughts, realizing Levy had made me soft. But I didn't care, I loved her so I would do it for her. Anything.

(POV Change to Hoshi) The Night Before May 30th X818 New Boa

I looked Sutōmu as he smiled at me, his teeth a pearly white. The lighting in the room was minimal but shown on his face giving it a glow. He looked like a model. And I had a date with him. Even though he was the son of my dad's eternal rival and from the guild that betrayed my dad. And I think I might be in love with him. Love really sucks. "So does seven sound good?" He asked me and I was brought back to my dream state by his voice. It was dreamy. His voice is so deep and strong sounding. It made my knees weak.

I did my best to stay calm and said, "Yes. That sounds perfect." I cursed myself, why would I say yes when I knew that if he knew the truth about my family he would drop me like a sack of potatoes? I hadn't told him who my dad was nor that I was a mage from his rival guild. Why did I say yes? Well it would seem my heart has a mind of its own. And had taken over the decision making for me. Fuck my heart. It and love are bitches.

"Okay, I'll pick you up from where you are staying. Where is that by the way?" He asked in that dreamy voice, but instead of my usually quick response I froze. This was supposed to be a get in get out mission. No overnight stay. We didn't have a hotel or a change in clothes. AND I WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A DATE IN THIS?! I was in a now dirty tank top, and pants. Which now had holes in them. Fuck. Where is a walking wardrobe when you need one?

Then hope arrived. Joi and Maks barged into the café, ready for a fight. But when they saw that everything was taken care of they were shocked. We had taken out twenty thugs and a demon by ourselves. Albeit the demon had no hands and was weaker than the stories had said, but still. It was slightly unusual. "Wow. This is impressive. How'd you do it?" Maks asked, his face showing his disbelief. He may have tried to sound normal but he was shocked, there was no hiding it. Joi was smirking at me, seeing the scorch marks everywhere.

"Oh hey Maks. It was really easy actually. We each took out ten mages apiece and then used a unison raid on the demon. He had no hands but yeah, we still creamed him. Ummm, what?" Sutōmu asked after explaining what had happened, as Maks and Joi looked dumbfounded. It was also extremely strange, for two mages who barely know each other to complete a unison raid. It is said that the mages had to be in unison of heart, or be close to each other. It is also said that those whose hearts were together, or in love, could do it. And if that was the case, then love really isn't a bitch. Not completely.

Maks shook his head, as if un-clouding his mind, then said, "Ok. Let me get this right. You and you," He said while pointing at both of us, "Beat all these guys by yourself. Then. Then you faced off with a dangerous demon and used a unison raid. A real unison raid mind you, to defeat it one blow." Maks looked skeptical and probably wanted it not to be true. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe he knew something I didn't. Or maybe… No, there's no way he knows that.

"Yeah, what's so weird about that? We work well together, so it's no surprise to me. Now come on, we have to get Mern there out of the wall and into custody. And take Karr back with us." Sutōmu said and Maks nodded walking over to where Mern was, but Sutōmu walked over to me and asked, "So where are you staying?"

"Uhhh…." I responded intelligently.

Luckily, Joi saved me as she said, "The Martens. It's in the town center. Now If you'll excuse us, she has to get ready for whatever you're planning. Say goodbye for now Hoshi and let's go." She had grabbed my hand and was ready to drag me away, but I tugged her to stop.

"Right. The Martens, seven o'clock. See you then Sutōmu." I said and got on my tippy toes, planting a kiss on his cheek. I felt a blush on my cheeks, but also felt a massive smile. I backed away slowly and waved good-bye. I then took Joi by the hand and ran as fast as humanly possible, and then some. I was so nervous. And slightly embarrassed, but also extremely alive! I was smiling from ear to ear and couldn't hear a single word of what anyone said. Anyone.

And that lasted until we reached the town center. And I stopped running, and dragging Joi along like she was a sled or something. I was panting, trying to catch my breath before Joi squealed. "I KNEW IT! YOU SO LOIKE HIM!" Her face was glowing, she was so happy. She smiling so hard that I thought her face might get stuck like that. Then she hugged me and I hugged her back. Then she let go, after what had seemed like an hour, and asked, "So… what are you gonna wear? I pray it's not that." She was pointing at my clothes and making a disgusted face.

I sighed and said, "Not unless we find ourselves a clothing store. And a nice one. Now where is Martens?" I looked around, not seeing a sign for it or anything.

Joi laughed nervously and said, "I uh, I may have made that hotel up…. Hahaha…"

I then deadpanned at her, shocked that she would do that. "WHAT?! How is he going to find us and where are we going to stay?!" I was panicking now, this whole date thing was heading downhill now. I had nothing to wear and nowhere to stay. I was worse than a homeless person, at least they had clothes. I had begun hyperventilating, and I was ready to pass out.

Then once again Joi saved me, this time slapping me. The slap was so hard I swore I saw stars and my face felt like there was an indent in it. I looked at Joi, and she looked slightly annoyed with me. Her father had rubbed off on her far too well. "Calm the fuck down. Listen, there is a hotel in this square so we'll stay there. As for clothes, I'm sure we can make it work. Now shut up and follow me." She said and I nodded, as we walked into the hotel. I saw a clock and it said it was four twelve. We had two hours and forty eight minutes to make me look awesome. 'Wow… I'm so screwed!'

(Time Skip to Seven O'clock and POV Change to Sutōmu)

I walked into the town square and headed to the ACTUAL hotel Hoshi was staying at. I walked to the front door and took a deep breath, I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I felt completely different with Hoshi, like it wasn't just some physical attraction. It felt like something much more. And I didn't want to mess this up. I walked up to the front desk and was about to ask what room Hoshi was staying in when I heard her call to me, "Sutōmu! Over here!" Her voice sounded melodic tonight, and I turned to where the melody had come from.

Some say that worry about dates disappear when you see the girl, but that was complete and utter bullshit. When I saw her, my heart started pounding so hard I swear I could see it popping out of my chest. My throat went drier than a desert. I swear I had to be dreaming, a woman of that beauty could not actually exist. The gruff look of earlier in the day was long gone and replaced with a brand new dress. It was a light blue, my favorite color, and went down to her knees. It hugged her body beautifully, and she had small earrings that didn't distract from her beautiful face. Her face was spotless, but yet was not overly made over. Just a slight layer of make-up, so as to accentuate her beauty. Not create a new person. Then she smiled at me and my knees wanted to buckle and my body wanted to melt at the sight.

She sauntered over to me and even the way she walked was something that seemed beyond beautiful. "Wow…." Was all I was able to manage as she got close to me, and she looked up at me with those beautiful chocolate eyes.

"Hmmm? What?" She asked, somehow hearing what I had just said. Even her questioning look made me feel hot, I was so doomed.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Sorry!" I said very quickly, my usual cool personality all but gone now.

She smiled at me and said, "Don't be nervous. I'm nervous too, so I guess we're in the same boat. You ready?" She said, making me smile and feel much better.

"Yeah, I hope you like spicy food." I said as I had picked an Indian restaurant for us. They said they had hot food and cold food, so I thought it should be good for us. She's a fire mage and I'm an ice mage, perfect for us.

"SPICY FOOD?" She asked, and I thought I had already messed up. "I love spicy food! It's my favorite! Good choice!" She said, and my heart immediately calmed itself. It would seem that not merely seeing the girl but talking to her like a normal was the trick. It would seem this day would turn out better than I thought.

(Time Skip to Twelve O'clock midnight and POV Change Back to Hoshi)

As we walked back from the best date ever, where we had talked for hours and saw a movie that was hilarious, I felt something brush my hand. I looked down to see Sutōmu trying to discreetly tell me that he wanted to hold my hand. I smiled, and took his hand with my hand on the bottom. My smaller hand fit perfectly in his large, strong hand. I then leaned into him, putting my head on his shoulder where it fit perfectly. He hummed and leaned his head on my head, and I knew we were both smiling.

I saw the hotel, and mentally groaned that our night had come to an end. I had learned so much about Sutōmu, and he learned some about me. Not the truth about my family and actual guild mage status, but about who Hoshi was. I heard him sigh as we walked to the entrance, and he said, "If only this night could be replayed every day. Er, night. But you know what I mean. Hoshi, tonight was simply amazing." He looked at me, turning so he could look into my eyes. He was smiling, and the moonlight gave him a glow that I could not so easily describe. He was perfect.

"Thanks. This night was amazing for me too." I said shyly, I wished I could be with him always. He made me feel amazing, confident. I was going to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he decided it would be better for a full kiss. He was right. The moment our lips met, I felt like I was floating. I was in pure bliss, I was in heaven! He was so gentle yet firm, and he wasn't pushing it either. I melted into the kiss, which was the first of my life. I may have gone on dates before but they were all terrible compared to this one. It was perfect. 'Wow. I'm really in love huh?'

He finally broke the kiss and smiled at me, and said, "Wow. That was awesome. Unfortunately I do believe I have to get back, or Maks might zap me. I will call you, for sure. I hope to see you very soon, but I have S-Class trials in a week. I'll call you after though." I blinked at him, realizing our S-Class trials were in a week. 'What a coincidence! Well at least I won't miss him too much then, we'll both be busy.'

I nodded and said, "Good luck then! I'll be waiting!" He smiled at me and placed a chaste kiss on my lips, then waved good-bye and walked off into the distance. I waved after him, then sighed deeply, deeply in love that is. I walked into the hotel and prepared for the horrible ride home tomorrow. Oh well tonight was well worth it. It would always be worth it.

(POV Change to Wendy) Magnolia- Fairy Hills (Same Exact Time)

I waved good-bye to Erza as I went to my room for the night. I smiled as I walked into my room, and looked around. Then I found what I was looking for: the lacrima. I walked over to it and dialed in the frequency that I wanted. I waited a moment, then when I heard someone answer I said, "Oh hello. Its Wendy!"

"Ah Wendy! I guess you got home just fine then!" A male voice said, and I nodded.

"Yes! I called to thank you for everything! You helped me get over my trauma and everything so I really am in your debt!" I said and the man laughed.

"Of course! I only did my job! So don't forget the promise we made!" The man said.

"Of course! Oh and say hello to Floda for me! He was always so nice to me! Goodbye Ewald!" I said and he said good-bye as well. I yawned and remembered my promise, and knew that this I could do easily.

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**A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Cliffhanger! What promise did Wendy make with our kind and crazy villains? In fact, how the fuck does she even know them?! Well I ain't saying shit! You are free to guess though! In fact I encourage it! So please do! I really do actually need your response to it, whether you hated it or… well most likely didn't like it. I just need a response so I know where to focus and improve! I look forward to it, and am still extremely pissed at Hiro! So for today: FUCK HIRO! Well I hope you guys enjoyed it! Remember! READ AND REVIEW! ADIOS!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Promises

**A/N: Oh, why hello there! How are we today? Well?**

**Natsu: Oi no one gives a fuck! Just get on with it!**

**OI! Why are you here?! I thought I taught you enough of a lesson last time!**

**Lucy: Eh, we got bored.**

**What?! You too? Shit man… Really?**

**Gajeel: Hmm, what I miss?**

**Aww fuck no! All of you back! Inside my brain now!**

**Natsu: Nah, I think I'll shout out ZeroXA for the follow and favorite!**

**Hey that's my line!**

**Lucy: Oh an let's not forget justenb7! He also did the same! And they both did for the original story too!**

**Okay seriously, if one more of you pops out of my mind, I will seriously…**

**PantherLily: Well, we hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

**Huh, I would have thought Levy would pop out… Wait! Fuck no! Not a cat! That's it back inside! (Brings out a whip) Right, ENJOY READERS! YAH! (Whip snaps and cracks at the figments of his crazy mind)**

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Era Magic Council Building –Chairman's Office June 1st X818 (Natsu POV)

Lucy and I waited outside the door to Chairman Reiss's office, waiting to meet with the first ever chairman who I genuinely liked. He was a former guild mage of Fiore, and treated us guilds like people instead of subjects. 'We are all equal here! We are Friends!' was what he had yelled when he was named chairman a year ago. He rose through the ranks quickly, being number ten on the council only three years ago. But even back then we knew each other well and I had hoped he would become Chairman soon enough.

Lucy also knew and liked him, saying she got good vibes from him. She was smiling, sitting down as I stood leaning on the doorframe. I smiled at her, happy that we were getting a small reprieve from the news we received yesterday. That was some heavy news, news that shocked me. We barely know anything about this Floda Reltih. And we know almost everything. In fact we knew that a new coalition had been in the works, but we didn't know it was already set up. And that they were recruiting so many guilds, even the reclusive Shi had joined. They are a group that basically owned the town of Shi and were more like a mob than a guild. They focused more on making money and owning the underworld, not guild jobs.

And Übel was also a surprise member. They are also reclusive, hidden away in some mountain area according to some, some say they were an underground guild. They focused on assassinations and bounty collections, they also hate every other guild around. So people say. But to be working with other normal dark guilds? And Eisenwald? Not even a year ago they were at war with each other. So how did they agree to form a coalition if that's the case?

'This Reltih must be some kind of leader. To be able to get all the major dark guilds together under another's banner is beyond impressive. He must be someone that commands attention, someone who is charismatic, and someone who is destined for greatness. But he would never reach that greatness if I had anything to say about it.' I thought to myself and began formulating my plan to deal this coalition.

But I was cut short of even getting an idea as Reiss's secretary said, "Ronin contingency, the Chairman will see you now."

Lucy stood up, I picked myself up from the doorframe, and we were led into a massive office. It was a large oval shape, with the walls a neutral color that I couldn't quite put my finger on as to the name. The accents were a dark blue, with the chairs around a meeting table being the same deep blue. The chairs around his personal desk were a dark, royal purple, and his desk was a beautifully made mahogany desk. The room was magnificent, designed by the chairman himself as is the case with every chairman. The chairman was sitting at his desk until he saw that we had entered. He then immediately stood up and said, "Natsu? Lucy? Welcome, are you feeling welcomed? How was the trip over here? I know it's not as easy anymore since Igneel passed. That wing the your medic created for him was truly stupendous! How are you doing with that, with your father having passed on?" Reiss's voice was deep, booming really.

He could be heard from a mile away, legitimately so it had been tested and proven. He was also a head and a half taller than me, making him even taller than Esoj which was a major feat. That meant he was around six feet and eight inches. And he was BUILT. He was purely muscle, which is ideal for his magic. He was a direct line magic user like Doranbolt, and he needed his muscles for when he fought. Can't just always try and outrun your enemies. Which is one reason I like him, he knew you had to get your hands dirty to win.

I laughed at his questioning, which was his thing asking so many questions it felt like an interrogation. I said, "I've been doing better as of late. My daughter really made me proud the other day, she captured an Eisenwald lieutenant. A lieutenant! Ah she does our family proud." It was true, I was so proud of Hoshi. She had really become her own person.

"Oh, is this not the same daughter who destroyed an entire city once? Who then had to be banned from the area due to the city being so mad?" Reiss asked, pointing out the one blemish on her record. Her first solo job, which had gone predictably wrong. I still get complaints about it, and it happened over four years ago. "But still, she did what precisely? She captured an Eisenwald lieutenant?" Reiss asked, knowing very well that that was the past. And that Hoshi was much better at controlling herself.

"Yes. An old acquaintance actually, his name is Droy. He was a former Fairy Tail mage and…" I said, but the Chairman cut me off, much to my surprise.

"And then a teacher, no?" He asked, and I nodded, so he continued, "Yes, he I do believe he was actually the headmaster in New Hargeon, no? Yes, yes, how could I forget? I was the one who appointed him, no? Yes, yes how did I forget? Did you guys know we have been looking for him actually? He is a wanted man, you know?" The only issue I had with the past conversation: he always asked questions! Only questions, but still this was interesting.

"So you've been looking for him as well? How long?" I asked, annoyed that I was now asking questions too. This always happened, he managed to make the people with him ask questions instead of holding a normal conversation.

"For an entire year, no? Yes, a year, a long time don't you agree Natsu? Lucy, what do you think? Why are you so quiet?" Reiss asked and Lucy looked up from the lacrima she was looking at. What she was looking at? That I had no clue. But I was sure she would answer soon.

She sighed and gave me that answer as she said, "Sorry, but I was getting an update on what was happening. It would seem that Jet has arrived, but there was an incident."

I groaned and asked, "Gajeel?"

Lucy nodded, the fatigue from everything that was happening catching up with her. "It would seem Droy kept insulting Levy, so he got fed up with it and almost killed Droy."

"Almost? Why is he in charge of the prisoner if he lost his cool so quickly?" Reiss asked.

"He was supposed to be interrogating him. You don't mind that do you Chairman?" I said, already knowing his answer.

"Do I ever?" The Chairman answered, smiling his trademark smile that was so genuine. I never had met a council member so genuine and trustworthy in all my years of being a guild mage.

I nodded, smiling myself for what feels like the first time in a while. I then motioned to Lucy to continue, which she did smiling at the Chairman's leniency, "Right, so before he could land his blow Jet swooped in. He had barely been there for a minute but as always he rushed in and saved Droy. But he almost killed himself as Gajeel severed an artery in Jet's arm. Ridvan saved them both but Levy had heard everything Droy said. She was pretty depressed when she called, and she had been crying for a while too."

"What a sad story, no? Why did this man, whom I appointed to his position, change so much? What caused this?" Reiss asked, and as always the conversation reached an awkward silence. He asked questions no one had the answer to, and we always reached this point. I had to wonder, how can I be friends with this guy? Then like always, he came up with an answer to his unsolvable questions, "OH? What if he was placed under a spell of sorts?"

I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms, wondering if that was actually plausible. "Well, that would require some sort of high level magic. And what if he was a victim of a spell where a parasite was placed inside of him? Like what happened to Lisanna, remember Natsu?" Lucy asked, expounding on Reiss's theory.

"Huh, you know what Luce that makes a lot of sense. We don't really know that much about that kind of magic and how Lisanna even got like that. Some spell might have hit her like that. Now while it seems unlikely to be a demon like the one that afflicted Lisanna, but who knows? Zeref's magic has been copied, or at least attempted to be copied. We never know what can be out there." I said, and Lucy and Reiss nodded.

"So we all agree that the most likely option was that Droy was under the influence of a spell of sorts?" Reiss asked and we nodded, "Right, but is that you came here? No, you came to tell me of a new dark guild coalition right?"

"Yes. Well now it is why. It's bad. It's all of the major dark guilds in Fiore and is led by a man called Floda Reltih. I come asking permission to form our own coalition to combat this and that I be placed in charge of it." I said, knowing he would say yes. Of all the guild masters he trusted me the most. It was good knowing that I had a longer leash than most, it allowed me to do my job well.

"Of course, who else would I trust? Who are the major players?" Reiss asked, and I smiled that I had gotten what I had come for. Permission to go and crush Reltih. Now this problem would be solved sooner rather than later.

"It's Eisenwald, Shi, and Übel." Lucy said.

"Oh my, that is bad no? Yes of course its bad how could I doubt that? Now shouldn't you go and prepare? You have a war to win, no?" Reiss … said I guess? I mean he speaks in questions so I guess he is talking normally.

I smiled again as I stood and said, "Yes we do. And I promise that I will win this war no matter what!"

"Good, no? How does this sound? I promise and pledge to you a full compliment of magic enforcement soldiers, sounds fair no?" Reiss promised, holding out his hand for me, and I knew this war would be over soon.

I nodded and took his hand, saying, "Fair."

New Boa- June 1st X818 (Hoshi POV)

I walked out of the hotel, the same smile from last night still on my face. I could not have been happier even if I made S-Class and wizard saint in the same moment. It was true, the honeymoon phase of love was awesome. Now I just hope this phase lasts forever. I looked around, stretching a little bit as the bed we had in our room was not very big. And we had to share since we could only afford one room and one bed. And Joi was a blanket hogger and a pillow hogger. She was an awful bunk mate.

I cracked my neck, a very loud crack, which then warranted a whistle from someone there. I turned to see Sutōmu, who was smiling as well, leaning on the wall of the hotel. "My my, you must have slept on a rock." He said coolly, causing me to roll my eyes at him. While I may have been cool on the outside, my heart was fluttering even faster with every second. He was the only guy who had ever made me feel this way. EVER.

"Might as well have. Curse my status as a poor independent mage!" I said sarcastically, we had a shit ton of money but spent it on clothes, making Sutōmu laugh. He loves sarcasm, 'It was my second language since birth!' he claims. I smiled at him and sauntered over to him, asking, "Come to see my off?"

"No, just enjoying the scenery." He said, and since I had really got to know him I could no longer tell what was sarcasm and what was not. I looked at him, blankly saying I was not amused so he quickly said, "Kidding! Just kidding of course I came to say good-bye! Oh and I actually got the fix to your money thing. Your half of the reward on the bounty." He held out the money that we had earned, and I was hesitant to take it. What would everyone say if I only came back with half of the reward? And who I lost out on the money to? But then again, who really cares right? I mean I captured the stronger one, with help of course but I did it. Dad would understand if someone got the other one and for good reasons right?

I nodded, taking the money while looking around to make sure it didn't look too sketchy. A woman taking money from a guy in front of a hotel? This early in the morning? "Thanks, are you guys really gonna drag Strauss all the way back with you? I mean it's a long haul back to Magnolia no?" I asked, trying to make it look normal. I leaned against the wall next to him, close enough to him that I could probably just lean on him. Which I thought sounded nice, but before I could muster up the courage to do that I saw Sutōmu giving me a confused look.

His head was tilted and his lips were pursed, which confused me as well. Then he said, "How do you know I live in Magnolia?" And I even more confused. Who didn't know that? "And how do you know how far away it is?" And it was then I knew why he was confused. While people knew about Magnolia, not everyone except guild mages really know where each city is. And people who travel a lot.

"Oh, well I travel a lot. Since I have no true place to call home, which I like mind you." I said, stopping him from asking me to join Fairy Tail which he really wanted me to do. But that would be impossible, for many obvious reasons. "So since I travel so much, I have been to Magnolia. Once, on a stop over. At least I think its only been once, maybe more. I have been everywhere, even out of Fiore." I finished, lying through my teeth but only on having been to Magnolia. I have been to another place outside of Fiore, to a place where my dad had trained during his exile(IN THE FIRST STORY- Epilogues 3 & 4).

"Cool cool. Did you really not stay though? I mean, Magnolia is a fun town. Obviously." He said, the sarcasm in his voice seeping out so thickly I swear I actually saw it. It was no secret, Magnolia, other than during Fantasia, was boring. No major attractions other than Fairy Tail. It was a place where you raised a family, not where you go and stay out all night.

I smiled at him knowingly, then said, "I think we both know why."

"Yeah, the ghosts." He said, and laughed. But I was confused. Ghosts? I was gonna say the men were ugly. What ghosts is he talking about?

"Ghosts?" I asked, but as soon as I asked about it I remembered something my dad had told me. 'The guild's first master and others from the guild have the ability to manifest themselves as ghosts. Dad had said, but I just laughed.' I had never believed him, no matter how often he had told me! Ghosts? How could that be real? I mean I know some 'supernatural' things like the chupacabra and yetis were real. I had seen them. But ghosts? Please.

"Oh shit! Sorry that's uh, an inside joke! Yeah… sorry!" He said, laughing trying to play off the fact that he… Holy shit dad was right! He was trying to hide a guild secret right now! Oh my… what fair tale type thing wasn't real? Next someone will try telling me that vampires are real.

I sweat dropped at his hurried response however, trying not to let him know I knew he was actually telling the truth about ghosts. I said awkwardly trying to change the topic, "Ok then… So when do you leave?"

Sutōmu froze and checked his watch, then cursed as he said, "In five minutes! Fuck I gotta go!" He stood up and kissed me on the cheek, then said, "I promise to call you when I get home so you don't worry, because you know girls do that."

I was annoyed at his generalization, and if not for the time crunch he was under I would have smacked him for it. Instead I nodded as cutely as possible, probably a little over the top given his reaction as I said, "It's a two way promise then." Sutōmu smiled, and then pulled me in for another kiss that blew my mind. I swear I was floating, I had to be! But unfortunately it was short as he had to run, he pulled back, smiled and ran off. And I watched him run, the kiss we shared a promise to never forget each other. I smiled and turned to see Joi, who was looking at me knowingly. Her smile was a sly one, and she looked as if she had me where she wanted me. I so owed her now. "I know, I know. I owe you one. I promise I'll make this up to you… right now! Here's the reward, at least your cut plus half of mine. Not a word of this to anyone!" I said, sternly so she knew I was serious. Not even a single soul could know about this, not one We trudged to the train station and then left, heading back to Naito. I sighed, praying that the relationship didn't have to end like I knew it would: heartbreak.

Magnolia June 1st X818 (POV Change to Wendy)

I walked down the way to the bar of the guild, saying hi to everyone who was present. Elfman and Evergreen were talking near the bar, watching their young son play with his magic. They apparently had some trouble having kids, and their son was their life because of it. A miracle they say, Evergreen was supposedly barren unable to have kids. I hardly believed that. The proof was sitting on the floor with his transformation magic on full display.

I smiled and patted the kid on the head, not quite sure what his name was. I looked at Evergreen and asked, "I'm sorry what was his name again?"

Elfman looked excited, like the name was something he really wanted to say as often as possible. Evergreen however looked at him, glared really, causing Elfman to cringe. Evergreen said, "His name is Tedman."

I blinked once, unsure of what she just said was legitimately the truth or not. She sighed and nodded, so I nodded and said, "Okay then! Hey Ted, how are we today?"

Tedman looked up and smiled, then transformed into a replica of my face as he said, "Cool!"

I blinked again, surprised that he was able to replicate my face so easily even though this was the first time I had ever met him. I got over my surprise however, and replied, "That's cool! You're really good with your magic! How old are you" I smiled at him and he smiled back at me.

"Yeah! Dad says I'm a pwodigy! I'm only five and my magic is alweady ahead of whewe he was!" He said, and I almost laughed at cute he was. He could not say 'r' correctly but he was still absolutely adorable. And extremely talented as he could use so much magic even though he was so young.

I nodded, and said, "Wow! You'll be a strong mage in the future! Oh! Mira-san! I wanted to ask you something!" Mira looked up from where she was rummaging for something. She still looked young, although she was in her mid forties. And she was still unmarried, her desire to be matchmaker distracting her from getting married herself. Not that she didn't have suitors, but she just got distracted so often and Lisanna… Once again Lisanna had changed her by dying.

Mira saw that it was me that had called to her and said, "Oh Wendy! What can I get for you?"

"Water, and I was wondering if you could hang this at the bar." I responded, holding up a statue of our guild mark. Everyone made sounds of surprise and impressed whistles, they had never seen anything like it before. It was gold and silver, a beautiful statue. I giggled at their reaction and said, "Yeah its pretty right? The people who helped me recover gave me this as a reminder of home. This way I could always remember where I came from, and they said I should place it here!"

Mira clapped her hands together and said, "Yes! What a lovely idea! Wendy why don't you place that right… here!" She pointed to a spot that had always been occupied by master Makarov, but was now a place where no one sat. It was the perfect place however, there the statue would be where everyone could see and everyone would pass it on the way to the job board. It was the place that made the most sense and lift everyone's spirits when they see it. A reminder of our pride.

I nodded and placed the statue on the spot agreed upon, and I heard a hum of approval from behind me. I turned to see Laxus there, nodding his approval, "Jiji would approve. If he ain't occupying the spot, something Fairy Tail related should."

I smiled and nodded, saying, "I agree master Laxus. Master Makarov would be happy to know such a statue now occupied his spot. Well maybe not happy but okay with it." Laxus nodded and then some old familiar faces showed themselves.

"I do actually like that statue in my spot! It's actually my height when I sit so it's like I'm there! Good call Mira!" Master Makarov, or rather his ghost said. He was with master Mavis and some others I didn't recognize. I smiled at him as he said, "It is very good to see you well again my brat! I hope you are here to stay for good." His face was soft, a smile gracing it that let me know he was truly hopeful of that.

I smiled at him, a smile that was undoubtedly very gratifying to see as everyone smiled as I said, "Forever, that's a promise." Everyone cheered and someone suggested a party, which everyone immediately yelled loudly in agreement for. I smiled, and looked at the statue again, thinking to myself, 'Well Ewald, I fulfilled my promise. I don't know why you made me promise to do this, but I'm glad you did. It was therapeutic almost. To be here, to make everyone smile. It was truly nice of you to make me do this! I owe you another one now Ewald!'

(POV Change to Hans) June 1st X818

"Cousin Mira, what did you say? I'm sorry, I can barely hear you! Where are you?" I asked my cousin, completely annoyed by this. I thought she was a mage guild who was a bartender at her guildhall. But wherever she was, she was definitely partying. It was so loud I could barely hear even a sound from her. I found parties like these to be partly annoying and partly fascinating. The music was always too loud, but the things that people do always made me laugh. And the things they were willing to do, man alcohol truly does lower one's inhibitions. This is why I chose to be a sober man, I'd rather not be a drunkard who is the talk of my friends for the wrong reason.

I then finally heard the background music die down as Mira must have gone outside. I waited a moment from my trek as she said, "Okay, so as I said: Of course you can come! I mean I always hoped you would return, you could do so much good here as a mage! Plus you can make more money here than in our homeland. So when do you plan on arriving in Magnolia?"

"That, cousin Mira, is what I have been attempting to tell you for the past week. I am actually already in Magnolia, I have been in Fiore for a few days now. My dear cousin, is that massive building where all the noise is coming from your guild?!" I asked, exasperated that the Fairy Tail guildhall was also the source of that party. How could a guild be run from a place that was obviously a place for drunkards and crazy folk?

"Yes! Can you see it? Oh wait is that you? The tall young man with our trademark…" Mira began, but I ran up to her.

"White hair, yes cousin Mira it is I! My goodness cousin Mira, how little you have aged!" I said, genuinely shocked that she still looked so young. She was in her forties yet still looked twenty! Maybe all the partying she does kept her young.

"Oh my but you have! You look so mature now! And like you're a heartbreaker." She said, and she grabbed my hands, something I allowed begrudgingly. I do not like people touching me like this, so intimately. But I had to keep the appearance of joy, of being happy to be with family for my cover. I'd rather not incur Führer Reltih's wrath if I failed so quickly. He does not like failure, especially after what I had done to earn his trust. I did kill his best guard, albeit he had told me to do so, but still. It had been easier than I thought, he had come at me about to cast a strong spell but I merely made the metal in his jacket kill him. I was shocked at how easy it was, I was certain that Führer Reltih had better guards.

I sighed, knowing I had a mission to complete. "So will you show me inside or shall I sleep out here? But you know its okay either way." I said sarcastically, causing Mira to laugh.

"My apologies Hans! Come in! I must say, your Japanese has improved greatly! Last time you spoke almost solely German, but now you speak very passable Japanese. Just a hint of an accent still. Were did you learn? It must have been from some friends, because I know our family doesn't." She said, her guesses dead on. My family is very traditional, only wishing to learn German ways and customs. Only uncle Karr and Mira's family had seen the light.

"Ah, cousin Mira you are so intuitive! Yes, my friend I met in Bosco while I learned to become a mage taught me. Now where is cousin Elfman? I wish to see how strong he has become. And to test myself as well." I said, actually hoping to get a test on everyone in this guild. Führer Reltih would like that, meaning he would be impressed with me. And that meant I would get closer to being an INNER circle member. That would secure my spot in the history books, something that I truly desired.

"Ooooh, confident are we?" Mira asked as she opened the door, and I entered what was surely an insane asylum. Chairs were flying left and right, tables along with them. I could see so many barrels of empty booze, I thought they had a brewery in the back. But what did look somewhat fun was all the men fighting, a true test of testosterone. And I wanted in.

I dodged a chair, and then caught another one that was thrown that I then threw back quickly. It hit a rather odd man, he was wearing no clothes. I then realized he was wearing no clothes. I said, "What in the devil?"

"Who threw thaaaat fuckiiiing chair? Huh, which- which dick?" He said, his words slurring with every second. I scoffed at his antics, but everyone in the guildhall was deathly silent.

Mira came next to me, and said quietly, "Hans! That's Gray Fullbuster, one of the top mages! You really shouldn't fight him so soon after arriving!" I could hear the worry in her voice, but I ignored it.

"I did." I said confidently and stepped forward. This Gray also stepped forward, and looked me over. "What? You wondering if you could win, exhibitionist?" I needed to look tough, otherwise I would get no respect.

However before he could respond, a large, actually intimidating looking man appeared. He sighed and said, "Gray get some fucking clothes on. You. You must be a Strauss, you look like one." At the mention of his nakedness, Gray cursed and looked around.

He called for a Juvia's help, which then introduced a woman who had to be absolutely his wife. She didn't even look fazed by this, instead she was gushing with happiness. She called him 'Gray-sama' and cooed at him for being so 'tough'. I sighed, looking the very tall blonde in the eye as I said, "Yes, I am Mira's cousin. Hans Strauss. I came looking to live here in Fiore from now on, and I am a mage so…."

"So you're hoping to join Fairy Tail, huh? Well, for starters my name is Laxus Dreyar, and I am the master of this guild. Now we can't just let anyone join, especially if they attacked a guild member. Let me see your magic." Laxus said and I knew I needed to only impress him.

However I did not move, I merely stood there with my arms crossed defiantly. But what did move was an iron bar above me, it started shaking slightly. The banner it held up then fell, the bar shaking more violently now. Then the bar flew off its hinges, going straight at Laxus. But I knew killing him or even attacking him as of now would be foolish, so I made sure the bar spiked into the ground in front of him. Then the end that was sticking up bent and changed shape, becoming the guild symbol. All done by myself of course. Everyone gasped for a moment when the bar went flying at Laxus but made 'oooh' and 'ah' sounds when it merely spiked in front of him and transformed.

I bowed causing Laxus to cock an eyebrow at me, "So that was you? Hmmm, not too bad I guess. Expected a little more though." He said and I sighed. Not enough? No problem. I then looked at him and saw that he was wearing a metal buttoned coat. I smirked again, and this time had the metal coat his shoulders. Then I made sure the metal clasped onto him, and lifted him up in the air. He looked at me and chuckled, "There we go. Now this isn't half bad! Impressive, what are you a dragon slayer?"

"No, I cannot do what dragon slayers can do. I merely am able to manipulate pre-existing metal. I cannot create my own metal nor 'eat' it. But if there is even a sliver of metal, then I am in business." I explained, not even worried in the least that they knew about my magic so specifically. It would work better for my cover.

Laxus nodded, seemingly pleased with the explanation. How could he not be, it was all the information there was to be had on my magic. "Okay then Hans, welcome to Fairy Tail. Where would you like your guild mark?" Laxus asked, and I smiled at him. He walked over to the bar, my eyes following him until I saw something that made me even happier. It would seem Ewald's little friend has kept her promise. I saw the statue of the guild mark, right in a place where everyone would pass by it and it would be near important conversations. The perfect spot for such a devious device. Then Laxus returned as the other guild members returned to their partying, and he noticed that I was looking at the statue. "Very nice statue no? Wendy brought it to us. It's perfectly placed now. So where do you want the guild mark?" He asked, a smile on his face.

"On my right shoulder, master Laxus." I said, smiling still. This way when I wore shirts without sleeves, which would be often as it was almost summer, everyone would see my guild mark. He pressed down and the stamper, I guess you would call it that, left the guild mark on my shoulder in a vibrant red. I nodded my thanks to Laxus, and looked at the mark. 'Phase one is now complete.' Laxus motioned me to follow him to the bar, so I followed, getting ready to initiate phase two. But it would seem that that would have to wait until tomorrow. Now I needed to start learning faces and secure my place here in this guild. What good is a spy if he isn't trusted?

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**A/N: (Dodges Spells left and right) Sorry, these guys annoyed me in my first story too! Ugh and now there's even more of them than last time. **

**Natsu: Fire Dragon's Roar!**

**Whoa shit! (Dodges and rolls behind nothing). Well before I continue this, I have to say: I hate Hoshi. Straight up hate the way I made her an internally whiny bitch. But I love it too. It's setting everything up perfectly for the end of the story! But why that is, I won't say! But I do love Hans! He's so cocky yet quiet. Some people are cocky and loud/obnoxious and that shit is annoying! But yeah, I hope you liked it! If not then let me know! And if you did, then let me know! Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!** **Remember! READ AND REVIEW! ADIOS!**

**(Resumes four against one battle, wish him luck!)**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Ronin S-Class Trial, Begin!

**A/N: Derecho Fuerte! (Throws a massive right hook that knocks PantherLily out cold). Fuck, that's only one. Oh… hey guys! Uh, I'm still a little busy here.**

**Natsu: Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!**

**The fuck? Is this Pokémon now? Next your gonna try and use sand attack. (Sand is kicked in his face) Oh come on! This is fucking ridiculous! Gah, where is my whip?**

**Lucy: Over here! Now I have a deal for you! Wanna hear it?**

**(Narrows eyes) Why should I?**

**Lucy: I can get them to leave!**

…**.. We'll talk while the readers read the chapter, Enjoy!**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naito- Ronin Guildhall June 2nd X818 (Hoshi POV)

I yawn as I walk up to the guildhall, tired from the long journey. I would have slept but my damn motion sickness wouldn't let me. NOT EVEN FOR A MINUTE! Ugh, why did I choose to become a dragon slayer?

Joi was walking behind me, happily counting her reward money. She looked up at the guildhall as I stopped at the door, surprised to find dad waiting for us. "Dad? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was waiting for you. I have an announcement that requires you two to be present for. As for why you're back so late, we'll discuss that later. I hope that you're mission went well." Dad said as he peeled himself off the wall and gave me a hug. He looked tired, but yet happy to see I was safe.

I nodded and said, "Okay, sorry about that. We ran into a slight situation however. It would seem that Fairy Tail was also there on the same job and took one of the two targets. We had to split the reward."

Dad looked annoyed for a second before sighing the feeling away. "It can't be helped. Do you know who it was precisely?"

Joi spoke up then and said, "No, we only bartered with them. We didn't care enough to get names." I nodded my approval at this, happy she had spoken up. I was about to say who exactly we saw and that would have made dad angry. Very angry. 'I'm all Fired up!' angry, the worst kind of angry. Angry dad was like a volcano erupting next to an oil refinery. This isn't the original guildhall you know. Last time he got that kind of angry we ate barbeque for a week, everything in the guildhall was so charred. That was also the best week of eating I have ever had, so maybe it wasn't so bad.

But happy dad right now was the preferable option so I stayed quiet. Dad nodded and said, "Good. Now hurry up inside. Everyone else is waiting." He said and I nodded. I wondered what exactly it could be, hoping it was time for the S-Class announcement. I had been wondering what our trial would be. It would probably the hardest thing my father could think of, it was our last S-Class trial for a while I had been told.

I sighed as I walked past the now open doors to see that the stage had been decorated. I blinked, surprised that the stage looked so formal, there were seats for all of the S-Class mages and Founders behind a podium where dad was going to be speaking at. It was looking more and more like I would be getting my wish. I looked around and saw everyone talking, except for those who would be on stage they were nowhere to be seen. I saw San and Bukku hanging out together, whispering to each other and laughing. It was odd, they were like normal boys, talking shit on each other and fighting like others their age, but something about them was off. However that mattered very little because the lights soon went out.

Everyone, myself included, gasped at the lights going out shocked at what had happened. Arnold Tum, the resident jokester and prankster, was immediately the scapegoat. Jude Mars, his partner and polar opposite, yelled "Arn! The hell man! Turn the lights back on!"

Arnold immediately defended himself, yelling back, "You dumbass! I've been here right next to you for the past hour! How could I have done it!"

Everyone mumbled that he probably had still, his magic was that of illusions after all. Then Gōsuto Jr. yelled out, "Alright who was in charge of paying the electric bill? That you Ran?" Gōsuto Jr. was kidding of course, he was like Arnold always joking and kidding with people. Just like the man-child he was.

Ran Anoren, a man who rarely spoke, said very seriously, "No. Fuck you." As always, he hated talking. And jokes. I could smell his annoyance with the lights, he was basically radiating in annoyance. Safe to say he didn't do it.

Then, a light went on. The light was over the stage and revealed those who had earned their spot on that stage sitting down in the previously empty chairs. They all looked very serious, except for Esoj who was smirking. He always loved to put on a show and loved suspense, he was probably behind the light thing. But the podium was still not lit up, nor could I make out anyone there. It was too dark.

Then a familiar, booming voice was heard, "Twenty years ago, this guild was formed by a group of pardoned criminals." It was dad, and he was about to retell the history of our guild but in his own way. "They were eight of them, each strong and powerful in their own rights. And they were led by the strongest mage in the history of Fiore!" I rolled my eyes, my dad held himself in the highest of esteems. His confidence was like the end of a black hole: endless. "The strongest mage gathered those who would follow, those who would do the name of his heart's desire proud! Those who were forgotten! Those who had been trampled on without notice! Those whose names were struck from history! Those who could justly bear the mark of The RONIN!" Then a small fire lit near the podium and my father's face was now visible, that signature grin of his plastered on his face. "And I am that mage. Recite with me the guild motto!"

I sighed, not really wanting to do this. The guild motto was long and annoying. And a little out of date if you ask me, but I had appearances to keep up. Dad began, soon joined by everyone in the room, "THOUGH WE MAY HAVE NO TRUE HOME WE ARE NEVER ALONE! THOUGH NO ONE MAY WANT US WILL DO WHAT IS NEEDED! THOUGH NO ONE MAY APPRECIATE WHAT WE DO WE WILL ALWAYS DO THE RIGHT THING! WE ARE THE FORSAKEN, THE FORGOTTEN, THE LOST, WE ARE THE RONIN! DEATH TO OUR ENEMIES AND TO THE EVER LASTING GLORY THAT AWAITS US IN THE FUTURE. LIVE! FIGHT! LIVE AND FIGHT FOREVER!" Everyone yelled loudly, causing the guildhall to shake slightly. I do have to admit, my dad was like a sparkplug. He always got everyone going like this.

Dad smiled at everyone, then snapped his fingers. Everyone grew quiet as the lights went back on. "Okaaaay then. So now after Esoj's demanded over the top intro…"

"Awww Fuck you Natsu!"

"Shut it cabron!"

"Yes Nena!"

Everyone started snickering at our foreign founder's antics. Dad smirked as well, but didn't stop talking, "I will now tell you why we are all here gathered like this. Every year for the past twenty years this guild has grown. In size, strength, bravery, courage, valor. This guild has risen to greatness! We have been recognized as the strongest guild at the last Grand Magic Games, the most reliable during the celestial spirit uprising of X810." At mention of the uprising mom grew sad, it was a sore memory for her. She had forgiven her spirits, but who knew if she trusted them as much anymore (Present anime arc mentioned, just later).

"Oi Salamander! Hurry up and announce the S-Class candidates so I can go already! I actually have work to do!"

"Gajeel! Behave!"

"Damn it Metal-breath! That was supposed to be a surprise!" Dad and Gajeel got into it, glaring at each other and throwing lame insults back and forth. I sighed, seriously wondering how my dad could act like a child so often yet be taken seriously as the master. My mom and Levy then stood up and smacked their respective husbands. The two glared at their wives but did nothing. Everyone else in the room was just laughing, this was seriously like a bad sitcom. Dad adjusted himself and said, "Right so we're announcing the S-Class candidates. If you hear your name then please come to the stage. Gōsuto Jr."

Gōsuto Jr. jolted to life, pumping his fist in celebration. He ran to the stage, a smile on his face. His father was merely watching, a small tear running down his cheek at how his son would be the youngest ever to participate. He was only fifteen. And he was no slouch either, I would have to watch out for him. His dimensional shadow magic was on a higher level than his dad or grandpa's when they were his age. And he was taller and already physically stronger than them.

That would be thanks to his partner, Ran. "Ran Anoren." On cue Ran was announced. He was a year older than Gōsuto Jr., and was extremely strong. Like his brother he had a mix of his parents creation magic. But he could only create living objects, and manipulate dead ones. A bad combination really. His brother, E.J., got the better end of the deal he was the opposite way. Controls living things and creates dead things. Now he was a truly strong mage, unlike Ran who was limited. Maybe that was why he never talked, he was miffed about his magic. That or his twin, Alicia, died when he was so young from illness. He always loved her so much, it nearly broke him. But no one actually knew, except maybe Gōsuto Jr. they were partners after all. And as always, Ran had snuck on stage without anyone noticing and he stood next to Gōsuto Jr.

"Arnold Tum. Jude Mars." Were the next two called and as stated before, they were partners. Arnold an illusion mage while Jude was a earth-make mage. One dealt in illusions while the other dealt in reality. One serious, one not. Ying and Yang as we called them. They would be no issue as they only were strong together.

"Junaid Kokinos. Konstantin Karim. Caden Jacobs. Ridvan Katrici." Ah the second wave group. They are called the second wave group because they joined after Zoran had. They were the second wave of new members. Caden was an ice mage, Konstantin a requip mage, Junaid an earth mage, and Ridvan a cell mage and medic. They were all experienced but did not worry me. They had all failed at this exam for the past ten years, the only serious contender was Esmond but he's gone now. Left and joined Fairy Tail seven years ago, claimed he wasn't respected here. 'Hard to be respected when all you did was talk smack but then never back it up.' I thought to myself as I saw the group go on stage. They all looked serious, knowing it was their last shot to make S-Class. They also avoided eye-contact, not wanting to acknowledge the fact that only one of them would become an S-Class while the others would not.

Then my dad called out the one person who could actually make me sweat, "Joi Redfox." Joi may be my best friend but she also was the only one who could probably take me one on one. She knew all of my habits and spells, the same of me with her spells and habits. If we had to fight it would not end well. For either of us. She looked at me, her face serious. She knew we would be pitted against each other for this, and she knew the same thing I did. I pray she isn't cruel enough to blackmail me for her win.

Then it was my turn, as dad called, "Hoshi Dragneel." I walked up to the stage, immediately after Joi had reached the stage. I walked onto the stage and took my place next to Joi. I looked forward, not able to look at Joi just yet.

But she didn't mind too much, she leaned over a little and whispered as quietly as possible, "Don't worry. I'm going to beat you fairly. I won't mention THAT. Or use it against you. Love life is off limits."

"Thanks. But we both know I'll win."

"Ha! How can you even come close if you're dreaming? Wake up sleeping beauty."

"Oh I'm awake, the question is whether or not you'll be able to see me blow by you. Bring it on book worm."

Joi grit her teeth at that, she hated reading. That was her mom, not her. Then her face relaxed, giving way to a sly smile. "Oh, better not get lost then. I mean you are in the clouds right now right?"

I gasped at that, shocked that she already brought it up so soon after not promising to do that! Sutōmu Fullbuster. The man of my dreams! Literally, any dream I had lately revolved around him. And let's just say they were moist ones.

But before I could retort dad cleared his throat. "Okay, usually I would not announce the trial now but the trial is long so I must. This trial will force the participants to figure out a riddle that will take them to a specific town. From that town they will then travel to the secret island called Tenrou Island. The sacred island of Fairy Tail. Then, while Fairy Tail holds its own S-Class trial, you will select a path taken by one of their own participants. You will deal with whatever or whoever is in that route. You will then need to find the grave of the first master of Fairy Tail. I await your arrival."

Not a sound was made in the guild. No one even dared breath it seemed. A cricket was in the room, I could see it near the bar. But not even it dared make a sound. Then dad looked around, seeing how everyone was floored. "Oh and before I forget, our candidates will be pursued by an S-Class mage! Who will be pursued by who will be decided now! Every S-Class candidate will now put their hand on this lacrima and be assigned a random S-Class mage! Luce is in charge of this, I hopefully see one of you at the grave! Good-bye! Oh and the trial starts as soon as you get your stalker! Now for real this time, good bye!" Dad then disappeared, leaving us to realize that he had never been there. He had been using a psychic projection.

I swear I must be dreaming. I had to be. Sneaking onto a sacred island while being chased by an S-Class mage? Shit this would be hard. And then there was the fact that it was Fairy Tail made it even worse. Because that meant I might have to deny the man I loved a chance at a dream of his. If I drew Sutōmu's path, I would be in a lot of trouble. I shivered at the thought, then almost cried as I realized I might get my mom as my stalker. If that happened I would never even get to the town I was supposed to reach.

"Ok everyone, we will select riddles and stalkers now. The order will be in the same order of how the candidates were announced. Gōsuto Jr. that means you are first." Mom was smiling the entire time she talked, excited that she probably had a chance to fail me. Gōsuto Jr. looked nervous, knowing he could get his dad as his stalker. He warily put his hand on the lacrima, and it started glowing. Then words were displayed, his riddle there for all to see. _'Where does, what goes up must come down, not apply?'_ I scoffed, knowing that it meant a mountain, which meant Shi. It was a mountain town, the only true mountain in Fiore. But Gōsuto Jr. obviously didn't know that. He looked dumbfounded, his mouth now gaping like a venus fly trap. Then the kicker happened. His stalker's name appeared where the words were. He got his dad, Gōsuto Sr. His dad blinked once, then started laughing uncontrollably rolling on the floor he was laughing so hard. I felt bad for Gōsuto Jr., his dad may have been proud of him but he also never let him off easy.

Ran sighed and walked up to the lacrima, pushing his partner out of the way in the process. He touched the lacrima and the following riddle appeared, _'Where the Hearts are kings.'_ I blinked, unsure of what that meant. Who were the Hearts? Then something that spelled doom for that place happened. Ran was paired with his brother E.J.

Ran looked pleased however, he looked right at E.J. a smug look on his face. "Meet me at the Heartifilia Konzern, we'll decide everything there." His voice was deep, challenging, happy. He was going to get the chance to duel his brother fairly. Ran turned and walked out, his head held high. E.J. stood up as well and went off to make his preparations for this.

Everyone had been laughing when Gōsuto Jr. had picked, but were now as silent as they had been a few minutes ago when the trial was announced. Next was Arnold who drew Raito, Jude drew Seble, Junaid got Rai, Konstantin got Esoj, Caden got Nena, and Ridvan got my mom. I cheered internally when I heard that last one, I had avoided my mom. Now I just needed to avoid Sutōmu.

It was Joi's turn, and she looked nervous now. There were only two options left, either Gajeel, her dad, or Zoran. I prayed she got Zoran, so I could get the one guy who probably wouldn't care. Unless it was his daughter. He would love the chance to test her. The riddle soon appeared, _'Where Iron met Books.'_ And I immediately knew where she was going: Magnolia. Iron being Gajeel and Books being Levy. Then my second worse case scenario happened, Gajeel was named her stalker.

Gajeel had not been paying attention, but when he heard every gasp he looked. And then he started laughing evilly. He looked at Joi, then said devilishly, "See you in Magnolia baby girl!" He got up and started laughing like a mad man. Levy looked sorry for her daughter but got up and followed Gajeel none the less. Joi looked so sad I thought she might actually cry.

I patted her on the back as she mumbled dejectedly, "It's ok, I didn't want to win anyways…" I rolled my eyes and looked at the lacrima. I gulped, knowing already that I had to get past Zoran, who treated me like a little sister.

I walked up to the lacrima and put my hand on it. Then my riddle appeared, _'Where the love of Dragon met the love of a Key.'_ Mom gasped, then clapped her hands together, 'awing' at the memory that the riddle invoked. It was where dad and her had first met, but it was new now. "So New Hargeon, huh? Well, alright Zoran!" I looked around for him, but could not find him.

"Oh yeah, he is away on business for your father… Well lucky you!" Mom sounded unamused that I had gotten of easy, but I was. I had gotten the biggest stroke of luck yet! My stalker was away and would not know where to find me! I was saved! Now I really did only have to avoid one person, Sutōmu Fullbuster. And that should be easy right?

(POV Change to Gajeel)

I walked to my room with Levy in hot pursuit. She was nagging me about making sure I didn't destroy Magnolia when I chased down Joi. I rolled my eyes. I had no intention of even chasing her, I had other shit to do. "Calm yourself Levy, I have other shit to do. I'm not even going anywhere."

"What?! You can't just ignore your duties!"

"I'm not. I need Droy to start talking. And then I need to find out more about this Reltih. I know Zoran is already working on that but he doesn't have the contacts I do. I need to do this."

"Oh. Uh, I'm sorry. Is Droy ready yet? Where's Jet?"

"Sleeping. Both of them. Ridvan said they would be for a day, maybe two in Droy's case. They lost a lot of blood."

"Wow. That's not good. Is there anything I can do?"

"Yes. Find all the information you can on the design of Shi. Specifically the mountains, the guild Shi is there. We all should have guessed that. But they're in the mountains, so we can't just storm the guildhall."

"Okay! I'll get on it!" Levy ran up and hugged me, before adding, "Don't stress. We'll figure these guys out."

"Yeah, the question is only when we will. Hey listen, I'm going to leave Jet and Droy in your care. I'm going to go and find Zoran and see what news he has."

"Okay, call me on the lacrima when you get an update. I'll do the same from my end. Stay safe sweetie."

"Gihee, you too shrimp." I looked at her smiling face, never having been happier to know that she was feeling better. The whole Droy incident had her down, but after explaining what had happened she felt better. And now she was smiling again, a sight that had always warmed my heart. Gods she has made me soft. And I love her for it.

I leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead, while pulling her in for a hug. I sighed, worrying about this S-Class trial. More specifically the damage that Ran and E.J. would cause. Those two may be brothers, but they do not like each other. And it was something that happened years ago. Four to be exact. It was so bad, that Ran left the guild and went AWOL for three years, Gōsuto Jr. going with him like always.

"Gajeel!" At the call of my name, I turned to see who it was: Esoj and Nena. They looked worried, and I knew why.

"You two worried about your sons yet? Because I am."

"Yes, its why we came to talk to you."

"Huh, Gajeel what's the issue?"

"Shrimp, I'm sorry to say but if you weren't told then it isn't my place to tell."

"No Gajeel, its ok. She should know as well."

"Cabron!"

"No, she is a founder so she deserves to know. You see Levy, something very bad happened four years ago between the two of them."

"Yes, I remember that something happened and that Ran left because of it. But what happened exactly?"

Esoj sighed, this story was always difficult for him. "You see, we have lied about the boys magic. Rather restricted them from revealing the true extent of it. You see they do not merely have a mix of our magic, but BOTH of our magic. They can create and control both living and non-living elements. And we knew this, but did not want to let everyone know that would make them targets. But those two were always out and about, training to master it, become true creation magic masters. Then one day, something tragic happened. While training, a woman appeared where they were training. E.J., trying to be a hero for his younger brother, attacked her and killed her. He had seen a foreign guild mark so he assumed she was dark mage. And she was not. To make matters worse, it was Ran's twin sister."

"Oh! I thought you said she had died of illness!"

The foreign married couple looked at each other, Nena was already in tears. Esoj was well on his way. But his tears were not solely of sadness, they had anger mixed in as well. "We did. We lied. She had come to surprise them now that she was back from a very long mission. And Ran snapped. He attacked E.J., and nearly killed him. Luckily we came and stopped him. But Ran was broken, so he left rather than live with his twin's killer."

Then something I had hoped never happened, happened. She remembered. "Wait… no I DO remember! Why couldn't I remember?!" I gulped loudly, unsure if I should answer that. Levy looked at me, then asked, "WHY NOT?" Then an internal battle began

I broke, Levy was the love of my life and if she knew partially then she deserved to know fully. Even if she would be mad. "Natsu decided that it would be best if of only some of us remember. Therefore he and I wiped the memories of everyone except for Esoj, Nena, Lucy, the two boys, himself, and me. I lobbied for you too, but he said that you didn't need to know."

Levy looked shocked at first, then she grew calm again. "Oh, well that actually does make sense. E.J. would have been treated as a murderer. I wouldn't even had treated him the same."

I looked at her, befuddled by her calm response. I had basically told her that she had not been trusted. "You're- you're not mad?" I waited, hoping that she would say yes. If not then I would have to leave with her mad at me, the worst feeling possible for me.

"No." I sighed audibly, happy that she wasn't mad at me. At least this way I could leave having some peace of mind. "Not at you at least. Maybe at Lucy for not backing me up, but definitely at Natsu. Grew up together and yet he still won't trust me! Hmpf!" She pouted and crossed her arms. Great, now she was mad. Just not at me, but none the less, still mad. Which I always hated when she was, I'd rather see the beautiful smile that had made me soft than the pout she had on.

I sighed and walked up to her, pulling her into a deep hug. I kissed her forehead, then had an idea pop in my head. "Hey!" I pulled back so I could look into her eyes, her brown, hazel to be precise, and very beautiful eyes. "Why don't you come with me on my mission? We can take the fan boys with us as well, it could be like a reunion of sorts. Er, rather a nostalgic moment in time for us."

Levy's pout immediately disappeared, excitement replacing it. It would be like old times before all the crap happened. "What? You have a mission? Shit, I was hoping to ask you to make sure Ran and E.J. wouldn't kill each other. I want to actually test my candidate as does Nena, be we thought you didn't care since it was Joi."

I looked over at Esoj, now torn. It was true, we did need to make sure those two don't kill each other. But my mission was also as vital to this guild. Levy sighed, slightly annoyed that our plan got squashed so quickly. Then she surprised me. "I'll go. With Jet and Droy. I can put some runes up if they get too close to killing each other. Hopefully since E.J. is ten years older, he will behave himself." I groaned, I had been hoping someone else would swoop in and save us. But alas, it was not to be. But this was probably in her best interest. This way she could reconcile with Droy and gather the information from him freely.

I nodded at her, then at Esoj and Nena, pulling away from Levy in the process. "Ok, so here's the new plan. Levy, Jet, and Droy."

"Huh? Who me?" Jet asked as he exited the room looking refreshed.

"Yes you fan boy. You three will go to Heartifilia Konzern right now and await the Anoren boys. Don't interfere with their fight, just make sure they don't kill each other. I will meet up with Zoran and we will hunt for Reltih. Esoj, Nena, you guys do your own thing. Now scram." I motioned the Anorens away, shooed them really. They sighed, shaking their head at my antics but waved good-bye none the less. When they were gone, I turned to Levy and pulled her in for a very deep kiss. I put some serious emotion and passion into this one, catching her off-guard at first. But she relaxed and melted into it, both of us saying our good-byes for the moment. "Stay safe shrimp."

"You too sweetie." We pulled away, and left each other. Hopefully she wouldn't even need to be seen, but if she did I pray she would be safe. I better find this Reltih guy fast.

New Boa- Same Day X818 (Zoran POV)

I watched as the guy I was trailing entered a café of sorts. But what was weird was that it looked abandoned and had scorch marks all over the place. 'Like Hoshi or Natsu were there.' I thought to myself, but dismissed the idea. How could they have been here? Plus there was also ice everywhere too. Which was odd as to why it hadn't melted away yet. It was almost summer time. And sweltering hot. In fact I wasn't even wearing a shirt. A fact that many women had noticed. MANY WOMEN. I almost lost this guy's trail I had to avoid so many women. But at least Seble wasn't here. If that were the case then I wouldn't have been able to, we would be in a hotel room. Man I loved that crazy bitch. We may be rivals in magic, but partners in love.

Now back to the man I was trailing, he looked around inside and whistled loudly. "What a number those mages did to this place. Damn freelancers, bitches. And they even got Mern, that bastard. Said he wouldn't wreck the place. Now I gotta rebuild the whole thing again! Never shoulda let him use the pace to hide. Motherfucker! And there's magical! Demon slayer ice… that means…"

My eyed grew wide, knowing only two demon slayers: the Fullbusters. That means Fairy Tail did this. With some help. I then made my move as the man, who was obviously the owner of the café, talked to himself. He wouldn't like much of a whiner, being so tall and thug looking, but damn he was. I barged in and tackled him, not even bothering for the stealth approach. "Da fuck… Shiiiiit! Ronin!"

"Yup."

"Wait! Don't hurt me! I'll- I'll do whatever you need me to do!"

"Alrighty then, tell me this. Where can one find Floda Reltih?"

"Whoa there homie. Ain't got nothing to do wit' that shit."

"Bullshit, you were letting a prominent member of that alliance hide here."

"Nah man! Me and that fool go way back! He just called in a favor! Nothin' else!"

"I don't believe you."

"C'mon cuh! You can't be playing me like this! Listen, I may not know where but I know a guy who do! Trust homie!"

I looked at the guy, not sure if I could just 'trust', gods he needed to learn some modern vocabulary. "Name."

"Wha?"

"Your name."

"Oh, my name is Khaleef Jones. What about you, my pale skinned homie?"

"Zoran."

"Zoran…?"

"Zoran." I gave him a look that said I wasn't saying another word.

"Ok, cool. Zoran. Now you gonna get off me?" I glared at him but got off. Slowly, never losing sight of him.

"Hey Zor-an, we gonna be good together. You looking all super commando serious and shit. And me, smooth talking everyone. We gonna find that bitch in no time!"

I was going to reply tersely, but then my lacrima started beeping. I pulled it out, and answered the call. It was Gajeel surprisingly enough. "What? I'm busy."

"Oi respect your elder! I called you to tell you that I was going you on your hunt. Oh and that the selections happened and you got Hoshi."

"Hoshi?! Shit. Ummmm…." I looked at Khaleef and asked, "Where's your friend at?"

"Who Franklin and Lamar? They's in New Hargeon."

"Meet me in New Hargeon. When we meet then we're separating."

"What the… why the fuck would we do that?"

"Zor-an! Homie!"

I looked ahead ignoring them, knowing that I had to test Hoshi for Natsu. She thinks she is a grown up so I'll treat her like one. "Because, I'm going to take my job seriously." And with that I turned off the lacrima, motioned for Khaleef to follow me, and began the journey to New Hargeon. To see if my little sister had grown up after all.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**A/N: Lucy: Wow what a great chapter no? I mean the passion, the suspense, the love! Wow that was awesome! Just like my own novel, May Forest!**

**Ok that's it! You promised no self promotion! Get out! Plus that novel flopped, no one's even read it!**

**Lucy: Hey! That novel is my first true masterpiece!**

**You mean your first true failure. Now leave!**

**Lucy: NO!**

**Ok, then you asked for it (Pulls out the whip, which he then uses to restrain Lucy). Ok, so before I sold my soul for peace and quiet…. Well whatever. So yeah, I tried something new with the dialogue. I felt that constantly saying who said what messed up the flow of the conversation so I mixed it up. What did you guys think? And before I forget, I love how Khaleef sounded! And if you get who Franklin and Lamar are, then it was even funnier! If not then oh well. Couldn't use all of the lingo I wanted, some words should never be said! But oh well, I had fun writing him! And let me know what you guys thought! I love feedback! So, Remember! READ AND REVIEW! ADIOS!**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Fairy Tail's S-Class Trial

**A/N: Well hello there everyone! As you can tell I have retaken control of this time, no more characters from the story! (Lucy is tied up behind him, gagged so she can't talk) Right so big time shout out to lunarstarshadow for the review, favorite, and follow! And for the PM conversation we had that was really insightful! If you ever wanna talk to me about whatever, PM me and I will reply! Now here we go, with the last of the exposition! No more plot bricks to lay for the foundation after this one, so bear with me! The action starts next! So for now, ENJOY!**

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Magnolia- Fairy Tail June 3rd X818 (Hans POV)

"I must say, this guild is more like a mental hospital than a guild for mages. I have been in more pointless brawls in the past day than I have ever gotten into throughout the course of my life. And these people were also just mental! The only normal one is master Laxus and we have become good friends. Yesterday we sat and talked about how stupid everyone in this guild is. I like master Laxus, he's a good guy. I also do not mind this one girl, Rosa Fernandes. She was… nice. Uh, right so these guild members are rowdy!" I was talking to a communication lacrima, speaking to Führer Reltih, giving him my report.

"Hmmm very good work so far young Hans. And your battle report is top notch. But I must remind you: do NOT get attached. You are there to spy, not meet people. Make friends with Laxus as he is the key to you succeeding but this Rosa? Ignore her. She will only slow you down." The Führer had a very serious tone to his voice with his last directive, but I knew he was right. I was there to sabotage, not assimilate entirely. But… this was easier said than done, especially with Rosa. She was so smart and stern, her will was stronger than any metal I have manipulated. She was also beautiful, that also complicated things. I do not know how, but in the course of one day she has managed to captivate me and steal all of my brain's capacity to think. Damn my heart.

"Yes my Führer Reltih. Your directive is my directive. Your desires are my desires."

"Good, good. Do not forget this my young Hans! You work for me, and I despise failure. Do not fail me. Continue with your mission. Führer Reltih, out." I then saluted the lacrima as it was a hologram lacrima, so we could see each other. His figure soon disappeared and I sighed deeply. How could I ignore a woman who somehow stole my heart in a day? I met her my first night and was immediately drawn to her, the same true for her as well. We even had dinner plans tonight. A date! Gods, why do you curse me so?

I put the lacrima under the bed I was using in cousin Mira's house, then exited my room. The room had been Elfman's, but he obviously no longer lived there. Mira was there though and was cooking. "Oh Hans! You're awake finally! Good, just in time for breakfast."

"Ah, perfect timing indeed!"

"So what's your plan for today?" Mira had begun serving me, a smile that could only come from years of practice on her face. I knew that it was genuine, yet also forced somewhat. I wonder what ailed her?

"Oh, not too much. More of getting acquainted with the guild members. But tonight I do have dinner plans… cousin Mira why are you looking at me like that?" cousin Mira had an odd gleam in her eyes, like she was in a different mode now. I oddly also felt like I shouldn't have mentioned my dinner plans.

"Dinner plans? As in a date?" She now had her hands together and was giving me a strange look. Then I remembered something cousin Elfman had said: she loved playing matchmaker. Oh gods I should have kept quiet.

"Y-Yes…"

"OMMYGODS! NOT EVEN A WEEK YET AND YOU'RE DATING!"

"Oh please calm yourself cousin Mira! It is just one date." I managed to stay calm and sound more embarrassed than anything, gods she was scary like this. I wonder how cousin Elfman dealt with this for twenty plus years?

"Oh phooey! Who is the date with?!"

"If I tell you do you promise to calm down?"

"Nope. But you can try me!"

"…. Fine. I am going out with Rosa Fernandes tonight… What? What now?" Cousin Mira looked like I had just killed her cat. Actually all of her cats, she owned three. Damn matchmaking cat lady, she needed a man.

"Rosa Fernandes?" Her eye started twitching and I had no clue as to why, "As in Erza Fernandes-Scarlet's daughter?"

"Yes. Who else is named Fernandes in this guild?" Now she looked mad. Very mad. Like she was ready to kill me mad. "What? What did I do now?"

She closed her eyes and started breathing to calm herself. "You see, Erza and I had a rivalry back in the day. Still do actually. It was bad, we fought a lot before we both matured. But there is still a competition between us. But it's ok… You're a fully-grown adult, I can't police you. Just be careful, she is younger than you."

"Yes I know, she's nineteen. She told me so yesterday. But she is so mature for her age! And she is so intelligent! And composed! And beautiful! And…"

"Wow. You really like her huh?"

"Yes! She's managed to completely captivate me in only a little over a day! And I won't lie, it is kind of scary."

Cousin Mira merely smirked at me, then gave me a hug, "Well, Hans Strauss I would say its love at first sight!"

Love. Could I already have fallen in love with her so quickly? I mean it's only been a day, that's way too fast. Isn't it? Gah! If only I was in a game or story or something that could just write and tell me, to say what I feel!

"Maybe. But I must be cautious, she is young still and extremely beautiful. I must not merely assume that she is in lo…" A loud knock followed by the door being destroyed interrupted me. And the fact that there was a very angry looking Erza Fernandes-Scarlet glaring at me behind her messy hair. Rosa had the same hair, it's why they named her Rosa.

She saw me and produced a sword. Gods no! She had an actual sword on her! "Well look at the time! Cousin Mira I must bid thee adieu! NOT THE FACE!" I managed to dodge her sword as I ran from the house, rather not wanting to die before my date.

"Erza!"

"He is attempting to steal my daughter's innocence! He must be stopped! Jellal! Detain him!"

I had only managed three steps outside of the house when Jellal Fernandes stood in front of me. He looked only slightly less peeved. "I have only one question for you."

"Yes?" I was confused, did he not fear the crazy woman knight in the house? Or had he an exemption from her orders as he was the husband of said crazy woman knight?

"Do you plan on hurting my daughter?"

"NO! No Mr. Fernandes. I feel very strongly for Rosa and could never see harm brought to her!"

He nodded, then looked over my shoulder. Erza was now arguing with cousin Mira, and was distracted. "Go. Now." He whispered and I nodded. So he did have an exemption. I envy him if no one else in this mad house had this exemption, they must be beaten regularly.

I ran away, not wasting a moment to turn and see if I was being chased. I'd rather not have to face this requip mage alone. I soon made it to the guild and found Rosa waiting outside, she must have known her mother would try and kill me. I wonder if she was worried or not, "Hans! Are you okay? My mother can be a bit… overprotective." Okay so she was definitely worried.

"I'll say! My gods, I mean no offense when I say this, but this place is more a mental hospital than a guild!"

"I know. The people here are very immature, my mother among them. She can be a little hypocritical, she actually starts more fights than she ends."

"Wow. Surprising, maybe it's the hair?"

"Oh ha-ha, you should be able to tell the hair isn't the issue."

"I know, I know. I kid, I kid. Now shall we enter my calm woman knight?"

"Of course my metal bender."

"Metal bender?"

"Yes! Because you bend metal to your will."

"Hmmmm, I like that. You know, my magic has no name yet? I am the first to ever use this kind of magic." I really did actually like her name for it, why didn't I think of that?

"Really? Wow, impressive. But it still pales in comparison to my heavenly body magic."

"Not likely. I am a very capable mage."

"Good, I was looking for one of those." A new voice had chimed in, and we turned to see master Laxus there, watching us, "Sorry lovebirds. But I was serious. Hans I need to talk to you."

"Lo-lovebirds?" Rosa's face matched her hair, but she smiled sheepishly at the idea. I smiled at her as well, I actually liked the idea as well.

"Forgive me my dear woman knight, but I must talk to the master."

"Of course! Seven tonight?"

"Yes, see you then my woman knight."

"Goodbye until then my metal bender!"

Rosa waved and entered the guild, then I was alone with master Laxus. And I remembered my promise to Führer Reltih, and how I was failing at it. I shook my head, not wanting my dream to end. "Hans, you okay?"

I turned as Laxus addressed me and nodded, "Yes, I had to avoid Rosa's mother to get here. So I'm a little tired, but other than that I am fine."

"Ah, she must have heard about tonight then. Well before you have to hide for the rest of the day, I need your help. You see we have seven S-Class mages here, well at least we should. Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen, Mirajane, Erza, Gray, and Juvia. But today we will be announcing that Mirajane will be retiring from that position, she just doesn't see the point in having the title anymore. But that does mean we have an issue, we need one more mage to fill in for her. That's where you come in. The S-Class this year trial will have each candidate selecting a path on our sacred island of Tenrojima. On seven of those paths we would have an S-Class mage there to test them. And we need you to fill in for your cousin. Also know that the mage guild Ronin is going to help us as well, by having the final part of their trial coincide with ours. Will you help us?"

I blinked at his request, is there a true one god out there? I was being handed the perfect information I needed to complete my mission! I was being handed a silver platter with success on it! Führer Reltih will be most pleased to learn of this. Most pleased indeed. "Of course! Who better to replace a Strauss than another Strauss?"

Laxus nodded and motioned me to follow him back into the guild. The announcement ceremony was to begin soon. As was the clock on this guild's life. Führer Reltih would need to be informed tonight, after my date with Rosa. I entered the guild and began counting down the hours until the end of this guild: ninety-six hours.

Magnolia Train Station (POV Change to Sutōmu)

"Ugh, I hate trains!" I rolled my eyes at Maks, how could every single dragon slayer have this problem? Demon slayers don't have this issue, it's why our magic is awesome. Maks was on the floor, ready to barf again. He had been like this for two straight days, and it was getting annoying.

"Really? Do we have to do this every time? Come on, we have to get back already. Move it or I'll get your dad here. Oi, don't forget Karr." Maks stood up at the mention of his dad, he'd rather not get in trouble with him. We turned to see Karr still unconscious, and sighed in annoyance. We had agreed to bring him back for Mira but he fought with us at every turn. He really didn't believe us, he thought we were going to mess with him. Or kill him he said that too. So we just decided to keep him unconscious by knocking him out whenever he woke up. But that now meant carrying him. And he's a heavy old man.

Maks walked over to him and picked him up, grunting from the effort. We walked out of the train cart we were in and took our first breath of the summer air here in Magnolia. It smelled bland but refreshing, an oxymoron I know. But it just was, it was home which was bland and refreshing. I then pulled out my lacrima and tuned it to Hoshi's frequency, I had promised to call her when I got home. It rang, and rang, and rang, and rang until I got to her voice recording. _"Hello, this is Hoshi and you must have called me when I was either eating, sleeping, or on a mission! Please leave your name and number and I will get back to you, thank you!"_

I sighed happily, hearing her voice surprisingly enough for me. I left a message, turned off the lacrima, and turned to see Maks snickering at me. "Whatever man, at least I have a girlfriend."

"Oh, a true girlfriend? Already?"

I blinked at him, his retort surprising me. Was this too fast to call her my girlfriend? I mean I usually never been with a girl longer than a date or two, I definitely had never planned to call any of those girls back. But Hoshi was different. She made me happy and actually want to be with her without needing sex. It was different, but yet not fast. No we didn't have sex yet and we only had our first kiss. I would say that we're definitely not going too fast, so yeah I think my calling her my girlfriend is okay.

"Yup. The first true one."

"What about that one chick…. Uh, what was her name?"

"No clue. I don't really remember any of their names."

"Man-whore."

"Shut up. You know you're as bad as me."

"True! Two man-whores right here! We man-whores need to stick together."

I rolled my eyes at Maks as we made our way to the guild. We were close enough to see it already and saw Erza chasing some random guy with white hair. She looked pissed. We got close enough to see the features of each them and saw that she was really, really mad. The guy was a younger guy, probably Maks age, with white hair and a small accent to his voice.

"Mrs. Fernandes! Please leave me be! I have no intention of hurting your daughter! I only aim at courting her like a true gentleman! KYA! NOT THE FACE!" I blanched at what he said, did he have a death wish? Trying to date Rosa Fernandes? That girl is wound up way too tight, but not quite as tight as her mother.

"Don't you dare kill my cousin Erza!" A new voice came, and we turned to see Mira watching this cartoon like chase as well. "Hans! Use your magic on her swords! They're metal!"

"Huh? No! I will convince her I mean no harm to her daughter! I only wish to court her like a gentleman!"

So the guy was named Hans? And he was Mira's cousin? This was now suddenly far more interesting than it had been two minutes ago. WAY MORE! A Strauss and a Fernandes? Dating? Oooooh man, this meant fireworks!

"Halt. Hans, do you truly mean what you say?" NO! Did she really just ask that? That meant that the cartoon chase was over! Just when it got fucking good too, damn just like Firefly. Cancelled before its time.

"Yes. I wish to merely court Rosa, not to violate her or disrespect her." Erza eyed him cautiously. I prayed she didn't believe so we could see her chase him around more, that was fun. She had been swinging her sword like an animal. A rabid animal with amazing dexterity and swordsmanship. And Hans had been running and dodging as best he could, narrowly avoiding being cut at least twice from what I saw. He looked terrified and like he wanted to just let her beat him for a bit. He was also a bit pale, his face flush from the effort of avoiding. I think its absolutely hilarious! Huh, maybe dad and mom were right, perhaps I am a bit sadistic.

Sadly I was denied my sick pleasure, as Erza calmed and her speed armor disappeared. "Okay. I believe you." Then Erza reproduced a sword and brought it to Hans' neck, "But if you break her heart, I will redefine the term _womanizer_."

I laughed at that, she may act super tough… okay she is tough. She actually might neuter the guy if he hurt Rosa. I pray that he realizes what he's getting into and runs, Erza is a crazy bitch. I then realized I had laughed aloud for all of them to hear. They were all looking at me, wondering what I was laughing at.

Luckily Mira saw Karr and squealed, "Is that uncle Karr?!"

"Uncle Karr?"

(POV Change back to Hans)

"Uncle Karr?" I asked, completely forgetting that I had just finished being chased by a mad, crazy woman knight who had promised to make a woman. Could this be the uncle that Führer Reltih had told me had joined him? That I had met and actually knew who I was? Well that would not do. No no, I couldn't let him see me without explaining everything.

"Yes. But he's unconscious still. He was worried we were going to kill him."

And he was right to worry for his life, but not because of these idiots. If he had been captured, then I fear I might have to kill him. Führer Reltih does not like failure and uncle Karr's job was to recruit in New Boa. And he was not doing it. "Oh my! Thank you for bringing him to us!" I laid on the happiness, faking it very well. I volunteered for this spy job for a reason, I was an amazing actor.

"Yes! Thank you Sutōmu! Hans have you met Karr?"

"Yes, I met him while I was travelling. He was a bounty hunter, no?"

"Yes! But now he is a wanted man. Joined a dark guild alliance supposedly."

Oh how right she was. If only she knew I was a member of this alliance then she would truly be worried for me. "Oh my! Well, we must turn him in no?"

"Yes, but after we talk to him. I want to meet him!"

I sighed, cousin Mira really did act like a child sometimes. "Fine, but after master Laxus' announcements. Now everyone come we have to go." They all looked at me, then nodded as I had been the only one among them inside the guild. We had been ready almost to start but then the crazy woman knight had gone on her rampage. Laxus looked at us as we entered, thoroughly annoyed now. I shrugged and took my spot near the stage.

"Okay, now is everyone ready? You know what? Forget it we'll never get this done at this rate. Okay so here is the first announcement: Mirajane Strauss relinquishes her title as an S-Class mage." Everyone gasped quietly, surprised by this somewhat. It was no secret she was almost inactive as a mage, but to hear it actually beginning to happen was surprising. She would probably retire soon enough, and that day would be sad for everyone. Luckily it would never happen, I had a job that was destined to succeed and when it did this guild and all the others would be gone.

"Yes, very sad. Now, onto the next issue. How to replace her. It is time for the S-Class Trials!" Everyone cheered, excited for this to finally happen. "This year the trial will take place on our guild's holy ground, Tenrou Island. There will be ten participants. Sutōmu Fullbuster! Maks Dreyar! Wendy Marvell! Marco Olop Jr.! Esmond Midgely! Rye! Red Conbolt! Yellow Conbolt! Ame Fullbuster! Rosa Fernandes! We depart for the Island the night of June 5th! The S-Class mages and Hans Strauss will accompany us as well, they will leave in the morning! Now go and prepare!"

Shit. Rosa was a part of this trial, that is not good. If I was in the path she chose I would have to fight her, and maybe hurt her! Definitely deny her the chance of becoming an S-Class mage. But maybe it wouldn't be all bad, this way when Führer Reltih came I could protect her. Yes that would be what I needed to do, or else she won't survive Führer Reltih's onslaught. No one will.

But first I had to deal with uncle Karr, he needed to go. But it would have to wait, I had a date in... two hours?! Did her mother chase me around for five hours? My gods, would she even have time to prepare? I looked around for her and I saw that neither her nor her mother were still here. "If your looking for Rosa, her mother took her home to get ready. You should probably do the same. I pray you are good on a date, or Erza will neuter you."

I gulped deeply at the threat, I knew that she would. I nodded and turned to leave. And leave I did, in a great hurry to make sure I got the right clothes, the right restaurant, and the right plan of attack. If I had that, then my penis and my balls will stay right where they are.

Time Skip to Twelve O'Clock

So my plans had failed me. The clothes I had chosen were cheap and the suit jacket I had on had torn right open on the side. I had to wear the shirt which was cheap and the tie I had on matched my jacket more than the shirt. Then the restaurant I had chosen was absolutely awful. It had looked so elegant, even Rosa had thought it was good. It was not. The waiters were dressed like regular people, they also acted like them. Completely unprofessional, the waiter, a male, hit on Rosa the entire time. He also made very crude remarks about who she should head home with and why. Needless to say I took exception. Which then ended with us being thrown out, which made Rosa mad at them. And talking was awkward at first between us, I think we were both trying too hard. But after being thrown out, we looked at each other and just started laughing. After that we went to a sandwich cafe and talked for the next four hours. First date? A success.

I was walking her home, her hand in mine as we discussed the people of the guild. She would tell me about their antics, I would be baffled about how stupid they were, she would agree and we would laugh about it. We soon reached her house and found a very upset looking woman knight. And she looked a knight, fully requipped in her armor. I gulped and looked at Rosa, she looked annoyed.

"Mom, go back inside! I wish to end this excellent night right!" Ezra looked at us, then specifically at our interlocked hands, and smiled slyly. She nodded and went back into her base form, leaving us alone.

I looked at Rosa, smiling at her genius plan. I pulled Rosa around so we faced each other and we smiled stupidly at each other. "I will see you again, no?"

"Yes. After the S-Class trials my metal bender. I will see you soon enough."

I leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead, which I could tell made her blush. "Until then my love." And with that I left, not wanting to push things too far too soon. I walked back to my house and began to plan on how to kill my uncle. First I would need to report to Führer Reltih. Then I would need to deal with Karr.

Thirty Minutes Later

"Kill him. Leave no doubt of his death and do so now. But make sure it is bloodless, as best as you can. Make it look like he is still sleeping. Führer Reltih out." Führer Reltih said and I nodded while saluting him. I then quietly made my way out of my room and to where Mira had placed uncle Karr: in cousin Lisanna's room. He was laying on the bed, snoring like an animal. I began to get to work, fining some metal for me to use. I manipulated the metal of the bed frame and bent it to my liking. I created a mask with no holes in it, then fitted it on his face, making sure it was hermetically sealed. In a matter of moments, he woke up unable to breath. He struggled, but he could make no sounds as air could not escape his mask. He tried to wiggle around and try to get the mask off his face but I kept him in place. His face turned blue, then red, and then white as he passed on. He finally stopped struggling, the light leaving his eyes. He went limp, and I took the mask off of him. I checked his heart and after hearing it no longer beating, I put the metal back in its original shape and its original place. Then left as I had an early morning tomorrow, er today. I left in... Three hours?! Well time to get ready. Off to begin the craziness and hopefully save at least one beautiful woman.

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**A/N: Well I hope you liked the end of the story set up! The slow pace is about to give way to a run away race car! Here comes the action and suspense, what will happen on June 7****th****? And what will happen with all of these new relationships where someone is hiding something? Why am I asking all these questions? Who cares? Just Remember! READ AND REVIEW! ADIOS!**

***Edited from earlier, I uploaded a rough draft! I hope you guys liked the real deal! Sorry about that! ****READ AND REVIEW! ADIOS!**


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